Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 26 (NationPress) India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur praised her bowlers for their crucial role in achieving an eight-wicket win in the third T20I of the five-match series against Sri Lanka. She noted that their disciplined bowling performance was fundamental in securing an unassailable lead in the series.

In a historic match, marking the first international women's game at the Greenfield International Stadium, Renuka Singh Thakur and Deepti Sharma together claimed seven wickets, restricting Sri Lanka to a score of 112/7. This was followed by opener Shafali Verma scoring an impressive unbeaten 79, leading the team to victory with 6.4 overs remaining.

“The contribution from our bowlers has been a standout,” Harmanpreet stated. “Bowling is critical in T20 matches. If we excel in our bowling department, our chances of winning increase significantly.”

“Today’s success is largely due to our bowlers. I commend all our bowlers for their efforts throughout this series. They consistently deliver breakthroughs, particularly in the initial overs,” she added during the post-match presentation.

Renuka, who replaced a rested Arundhati Reddy, had a strong return to the team. “We opted for Renuka to provide that early breakthrough. Her ability to bounce back and secure those four crucial wickets was exactly what we needed,” Harmanpreet expressed.

She further emphasized that the team's commanding performance against Sri Lanka was indicative of their aim to enhance standards and adopt a more aggressive approach leading up to the upcoming T20 World Cup scheduled in England next year.

“This series has been exceptional for us. After the World Cup, we discussed raising our standards and being more aggressive in T20s, especially with the T20 World Cup approaching. Now is the time to push our limits, and I’m thrilled with our overall performance,” she said.

Sri Lanka’s captain Chamari Athapaththu acknowledged her team’s batting difficulties during the series but highlighted positive individual performances from Imesha Dulani and Kavisha Dilhari.

“We haven’t showcased our best cricket throughout the tournament. Our batting unit has struggled significantly, and we must address these issues. We’ve been utilizing our strongest batting lineup for the past six months,” she mentioned.

“While we explore options in our bowling unit, we still trust our youngsters and top-order. However, we need to identify some players ahead of the World Cup, especially since we've rested several key players. We have two upcoming bilateral series, and I hope we can improve our performance,” she concluded.