India defeated Sri Lanka by 82 runs in a much-needed Net Run Rate-boosting win to keep their semi-final hopes alive in the Women’s T20 World Cup clash in Dubai today (October 9).
After a thumping loss in their first game of the tournament to New Zealand, India needed massive wins in their remaining games to stay alive in the competition. They defeated Pakistan by six wickets in their previous game before proceeding to beat Sri Lanka to drastically improve their NRR.
After winning the toss, India decided to bat first and maximised their powerplay, posting 41-0 in the first six overs. While Smriti Mandhana struggled and was batting on 13 off 15 balls at one stage, the left-hander soon raced away to 44 in 33 before she scored her 27th T20I fifty.
Shafali Varma (43 in 40), on the other hand, played a relatively cautious innings, but fell a delivery after Mandhana, who departed for 50 in 38. From 98-0, India soon slipped to 98-2 in the space of two deliveries. Harmanpreet Kaur's fastest T20I fifty (52 in 27) then helped India to 172-3, the highest team total of this World Cup thus far, with Jemimah Rodrigues contributing as well.
The bowling panned out perfectly for India, with every move made by skipper Mandhana, standing in for Harmanpreet, who was not on the field, possibly due to an injury she sustained against Pakistan, working. Sri Lanka were reduced to 6-3 in 14 balls and could not recover thereafter.
It was India's biggest win by runs in the history of the Women's T20 World Cup.
India have their last league game against Australia on Sunday. Currently, on four points, their best chance to make the top four would be a win to go to six points. However, they will still be reliant on other results to go their way.
Updated Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 points table
Group A
| Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Points | Net run rate |
| Australia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | +2.524 |
| India | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | +0.576 |
| Pakistan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +0.555 |
| New Zealand | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -0.050 |
| Sri Lanka | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -2.564 |
Group B
| Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Points | Net run rate |
| South Africa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | +1.527 |
| England | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | +0.653 |
| West Indies | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +1.154 |
| Bangladesh | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -0.125 |
| Scotland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -2.671 |
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