Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 30 (NationPress) Under the leadership of Harmanpreet Kaur, who scored a remarkable 68 runs off 43 balls, India’s bowlers showcased a cohesive performance to accomplish a 5–0 whitewash against Sri Lanka in the five-match T20I series. This victory marked the conclusion of a prominent 2025 season for the hosts with yet another dominant win on home soil.

This clean sweep also signified the third time India Women have achieved a 5–0 victory in a bilateral T20I series, previously accomplishing this against the West Indies in 2019 and Bangladesh in 2024.

Notably, India opted to rest star player Smriti Mandhana for this match, allowing G Kamalini to make her first appearance in T20I cricket.

Kamalini opened the batting with a total of 12 runs. Harmanpreet’s innings provided a strong foundation in the middle overs, steering India to a total of 175 runs for 7 wickets. Sri Lanka's bowlers put up a commendable effort, with Kavisha Dilhari, Chamari Athapaththu, and Rashmika Sewwandi each taking 2 wickets.

In response, Arundhati Reddy disrupted Sri Lanka's chase by dismissing the dangerous Athapaththu in the second over, who managed only 2 runs. Despite this early setback, Sri Lanka built momentum through a strong partnership between Hasini Perera and Imesha Dulani, contributing 79 runs for the second wicket.

Dulani, achieving her first T20I fifty, was ultimately stumped by Amanjot Kaur in the 12th over, finishing with 50 runs off 39 balls.

Perera continued to lead the charge for Sri Lanka, scoring her first T20I fifty in eight matches. She amassed 81 runs from 42 balls, including eight fours and one six, before falling to Shree Charani in the seventeenth over.

After the two fifties, the middle and lower order faltered, with only Rashmika Sewwandi reaching double figures with an unbeaten 14 runs from 8 balls.

Defensively, India excelled, with six players each taking at least one wicket. Deepti Sharma notably became the leading wicket-taker in Women's T20I history after claiming the wicket of Nilakshi de Silva, while both Sneh Rana and Shree Charani finished with figures of 1/31.

Following this latest defeat to India, coupled with earlier losses in the five-game T20I series against the West Indies, Sri Lanka finds itself struggling with a 0-5 record against both formidable opponents.

Brief scores:

India Women 175/7 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 68, Arundhati Reddy 27; Kavisha Dilhari 2-11, Chamari Athapaththu 2-21) beat Sri Lanka Women 160/7 in 20 overs (Hasini Perera 65, Imesha Dulani 50; Deepti Sharma 1-28, Sneh Rana 1-31) by 15 runs