Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 28 (NationPress) Vaishnavi Sharma and Arundhati Reddy each took two wickets, leading the India Women to a convincing 30-run victory over the Sri Lanka Women in the fourth T20I held at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.

Set to chase 222 runs after Smriti Mandhana scored 80 and Shafali Verma added 79, India reached a formidable total of 221/3 in their 20 overs. Sri Lanka started strong, reaching fifty in just 3.3 overs, with captain Chamari Athapaththu leading the charge with a top score of 52, as all batters aimed for boundaries.

However, they fell short of surpassing India's impressive score, finishing at 191/6 in their 20 overs, marking their highest total in women's T20Is.

This match tested India for the first time in the series, as the bowlers struggled with a wet ball and the fielding was below expectations. Vaishnavi excelled with figures of 2-24 in her four overs, while Arundhati recorded 2-42. Despite the struggles of the rest of the bowling attack, India's record batting performance proved crucial in maintaining their unbeaten streak in the series.

Sri Lanka's chase began aggressively, with Hasini Perera hitting three boundaries off Renuka Singh Thakur in the first over. Arundhati Reddy, who replaced a rested Kranti Gaud, faced a difficult start as her initial deliveries went for runs, including a no-ball that added 10 runs, resulting in a 15-run second over.

India's attempt to introduce spin backfired as Deepti Sharma's first over was expensive, yielding 13 runs and bringing Sri Lanka to 43/0.

The opening duo of Hasini and Chamari Athapaththu maintained their aggressive play during the Powerplay, bringing up Sri Lanka’s fifty by the fourth over. India's breakthrough came in the sixth over when Arundhati dismissed the dangerous Perera for 33 off 20 balls, caught by Harmanpreet Kaur.

This wicket briefly halted Sri Lanka's momentum, but Chamari and Imesha Dulani stabilized the innings with smart strike rotation. At the halfway point, Sri Lanka was at 95/1, ahead of India's position.

Luck favored Imesha when a missed stumping opportunity by wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh was ruled a no-ball. Chamari reached her fifty in just 31 balls but was dismissed shortly after for 52 off 37 balls, caught in the deep off Vaishnavi Sharma.

Despite Deepti missing a chance to catch Harshitha Samarawickrama, Imesha was run out shortly after. In the following over, Harshitha was stumped by Richa after being deceived by Vaishnavi.

Fielding errors continued for India, with Richa missing another stumping, and Smriti dropping a catch, giving Nilashika Silva and Kavisha Dilhari some chances. Ultimately, Kavisha fell for 13 to Arundhati, while Deepti dropped another catch of Rashmika Sewwandi, who was later bowled by Sree Charani, allowing India to regain control.

Brief scores:

India 221/2 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 80, Shafali Verma 79, Richa Ghosh 40 not out; Malsha Shehani 1-32, Nimasha Madushani 1-40) beat Sri Lanka 191/6 in 20 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 52, Hasini Perera 33; Vaishnavi Sharma 2-24, Arundhati Reddy 2-42) by 30 runs