Lankan women beat patchy India by 22 runs in T20 World Cup

Wednesday, 26 March 2014 01:08 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

ESPNCricinfo: A poor batting performance from India Women on Monday saw them lose their opening game of the World Twenty20 against Sri Lanka Women by 22 runs, after their bowlers did well to restrict the opposition to 128. India lost Smriti Mandhana in the second over and were always struggling for impetus in their innings. Like Sri Lanka, only three of their top six batsmen managed to score at more than a run-a-ball but the difference between the sides was that India’s run-scoring in the latter stages of their innings slumped due to wickets. Mithali Raj did not have a great start in her new role at the top of the order, scoring 16 off 23 balls. Jhulan Goswami promoted to No. 4 also failed to add any momentum to the innings and by the halfway stage, India were 57 for 3 with the required run rate over 7. Sri Lanka struck in successive overs between the 16th and 19th, putting an end to any hopes India had of a late flourish. Udeshika Prabodhani was the pick of the bowlers with miserly figures of 2 for 9 in her four overs. Earlier, India’s bowlers did well to stifle partnerships as Sri Lanka were restricted to 128. The most substantial stands of their innings were 29 and 31 for the third and fourth wickets respectively and opener Chamari Atapattu was involved in both. Her 44-ball 43 anchored the early part of Sri Lanka’s innings

and the side was given a push at the end by Eshani Lokusuriyage, who hit 34 off 29 balls. Chief Scores: Sri Lanka Women 128 for 8 (Atapattu 43, Yadav 2-20) beat India Women 106 for 9 (Pandey 22, Prabodhani 2-9) by 22 runs