ICC Women's WC: Deepti, Amanjot's late fightback powers India to 269/8 against SL in tournament opener

Guwahati (Assam) [India], September 30 (ANI): Indian all-rounder Amanjot Kaur became only the second player to register a fifty-plus score for India in a women's ODI while batting at number eight position or below and stitched a valuable 103-run stand for the seventh wicket with an experienced Deepti Sharma to power India to 269/8 in their ICC Women's World Cup opener against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

SL opted to bowl first after winning the toss and with rains interrupting the action, the match become a 47-over a side clash.

Resuming the action having lost Smriti Mandhana (8) at the score of 14, India had a 67-run stand between opener Pratika Rawal (37 in 59 balls, with three fours and a six) and Harleen Deol (48 in 64 balls, with six fours) to stabilise the innings. However, Inoka Ranaweera's slow left-arm spin unsettled India, as she captured the scalps of Pratika, Harleen, Jemimah Rodrigues (0) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (21 in 19 balls, with two fours) to reduce India to 124/6 in 27 overs.

However, an experienced Deepti decided to take the matter into her hands and not let the home crowd down, stitching a 103-run stand for the seventh-wicket with 25-year-old Amanjot to take India way beyond 200 run mark. Deepti scored a patient run-a-ball 53, with three fours, while Amanjot, batting at eighth spot, played her six fours and a six with her youthful freedom.

Sneh Rana's quick cameo of 28* in 15 balls, with two fours and two sixes, took India to a competitive total.

This was only the second instance of a century partnership at seventh wicket or lower in women's ODI for India, with the first being a 122-run stand between Sneh and Pooja Vastrakar against Pakistan in 2022 at Mount Maunganui. Amanjot is just the second batter to register a 50-plus score from No.8 or lower in World Cups, after Pooja Vastrakar's 67 vs PAK-W in 2022.

Coming to the fifty run scores scored by Indian batters batting at number eight or below, Pooja Vastrakar has done it four times.

Aged 39y 224d, Ranaweera is the second-oldest to bag a 4-wicket haul in Women's ODIs, after West Indies' Pamela Lavine, who registered 4/17 aged 41y, 39d for WI-W vs SL-W at Basseterre in 2010.

SL has been set 271 runs in 47 overs as per DLS Method to win. (ANI)

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