Gem-imah Rodrigues: Opener’s career-best 76 powers India to 41-run win over Lankans

PTI

Sylhet, October 1

Jemimah Rodrigues played the role of an enforcer to perfection with a career-best 76 before the bowlers produced a clinical display to power India to a 41-run win against Sri Lanka in their first match of the Women’s Asia Cup here today.

Rodrigues put up a boundary-hitting exhibition as she hit 11 fours and a six in her counter-attacking 53-ball innings to help India post 150/6 on a wicket where the batters struggled due to low bounce.

The Indian bowlers then struck at regular intervals to skittle out Sri Lanka for 109 in 18.2 overs.

India did not get the best of starts after being asked to bat. Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (10) was the first to be dismissed, while fellow opener Shafali Verma’s batting woes continued as she fell for six runs, became spinner Oshadi Ranasinghe’s (3/32) first victim of the day.

But Rodrigues, who is coming off a wrist injury, was in control from the beginning, timing the ball to perfection, racing to her half-century in 38 deliveries. In the company of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (33 off 30), she steered India over the 100-run mark.

The two added 92 off 71 balls, with Kaur also looking dangerous. The skipper got a reprieve in the 15th over when she was dropped off Sugandika Kumari (1/26), but couldn’t capitalise on it as Ranasinghe had her stumped in the next over.

The Sri Lankan bowlers then staged a comeback in the death overs with a flurry of wickets.

Rodrigues continued to score at a good pace, going past her previous career-best T20I score of 72, and her fabulous innings came to an end when she was bowled by a slow, low delivery by Chamari Athapaththu (1/8).

Dayalan Hemalatha chipped in with an unbeaten 13 towards the end, while Richa Ghosh slammed a six in her nine runs.

Chasing 151, Sri Lanka were off to a flyer, plundering 13 runs off the first over but the islanders couldn’t continue the momentum as they lost wickets at regular intervals.

Brief Scores: India: 150/6 in 20 overs (Rodrigues 76; Ranasinghe 3/32); Sri Lanka: 109 all out in 18.2 overs (Perera 30; Hemalatha 3/15) — PTI

Jemimah had done her homework right

Sylhet: A fit-again India batter Jemimah Rodrigues today credited her match-winning knock against Sri Lanka to the preparation she had on a similar slow and low-bounce track in Bengaluru ahead of the tournament. “The wicket was tricky. But I had prepared well for this, even in Bangalore I asked for slower and turning wickets. That preparation really helped me here,” she said.

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