India cross opening hurdle

The experience of Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur came in handy after former Sri Lanka skipper Inoka Ranaweera tore through India’s batting line-up as the home side started their ICC Women’s World Cup campaign with a 59-run (DLS) win at Barsapara Stadium.

The opening tie was hit by heavy showers, forcing the play to be reduced to 47 overs each side. India’s innings hit a major bump as Inoka claimed three wickets in the 25th over and reduced the side to 124/6. Had it not been for the 103-run partnership between Amanjot (57) and Deepti (53) for the seventh wicket, and three dropped catches by the Sri Lankan fielders, India could have faced a major scare in the opener.

The duo helped India set a target of 270 runs. The Sri Lankan batters had no answer for the Indian bowling attack. The only notable contribution came from skipper Chamari Athapaththu (43), while the other batters struggled. After shining with the bat, Deepti spun a web around the Sri Lankan batters and claimed 3/42 — including Chamari’s wicket. Sneh Rana (2/32) and Shree Charani (2/37) also had their say with the ball as the Sri Lankan innings ended at 211. Making her debut, Kranti Goud got India’s first wicket as she dismissed Hasini Perera (14).

Earlier, the opening pair of Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana was expected to give India the perfect start. However, just before rain hit, Smriti (8) fell. After almost an hour of waiting, the match resumed and Harleen Deol (48) gave some stability to the side.

Skipper Chamari then introduced Inoka to the attack and it worked for the visitors. The 39-year-old accounted for Pratika (37) in her opening spell. She snared three more wickets, of Harleen, Jemimah Rodrigues (0) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (21). Chamari dismissed Richa Ghosh (2).

However, Amanjot, who is returning after recovering from an injury, made a strong impact in the innings. Amanjot and Deepti kept rotating the strike and their 100-plus partnership came off 99 balls. Amanjot took full advantage of three lifelines. She was dropped on 18, 37, and 50. Later, Rana entertained with an unbeaten 28 off 15 balls to guide the side to 269.

Brief scores: India: 269/8 in 47 overs (Amanjot 57, Deepti 53; Inoka 4/46); Sri Lanka: 211 all out in 45.4 overs (Chamari 43; Deepti 3/54, Rana 2/32, Charani 2/37)

Record turnout

The game witnessed an attendance of 24, 803 spectators — a record in any league match of a Women’s World Cup (T20I or ODI). The previous highest was recorded at 15,935 in Dubai during the 2024 T20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan.