Visakhapatnam, Dec 23 (NationPress) The Sri Lanka Women’s cricket team captain Chamari Athapaththu expressed her disappointment regarding the team's batting struggles, despite the favorable pitch conditions, as they faced their second consecutive defeat in the five-match series against India at the Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA VDCA Cricket Stadium.

Opening batswoman Shafali Verma shone with an outstanding unbeaten 69, leading India Women to a seven-wicket victory with 49 balls to spare, giving them a 2-0 advantage in the T20I series.

Opting to bowl first, India made early inroads, preventing Sri Lanka from establishing any rhythm. The Sri Lankan team was able to improve upon their total of 121 from the first T20I. Kranti Gaud continued her excellent performance by dismissing Vishmi Gunaratne for just 1 run in the opening over, caught off her own bowling. Despite a few runs leaking through Arundathi Reddy in the early stages, the Indian bowlers maintained pressure, ensuring Sri Lanka couldn’t break free.

Sri Lanka managed to score 39 runs during the Power-play but encountered significant challenges, with Athapaththu being the leading scorer. She struck two sixes in her contribution of 31 off 24 balls before being dismissed by Sneh Rana, who was the only change in the squad for the second T20I due to Deepti Sharma missing out because of illness.

"We had a decent Power-play, but sadly, we lost two crucial wickets, including mine. India executed their strategies effectively. Our batters often resort to horizontal shots, which isn't their strength. We must improve our performance, particularly in the middle and death overs. We need to aim for boundaries instead of merely rotating the strike. As a bowling unit, we struggled to adjust. It’s quite challenging to spin on this wicket. To defend our total, we need to score over 150 runs. The conditions become tougher with dew. We require runs to play with," Athapaththu stated post-match.

Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama attempted to stabilize Sri Lanka's innings by rotating the strike, bringing their score to 66 for 2 at the halfway mark. With the field spread out, Perera found it challenging to accelerate and was dismissed for 22 off 28 balls, falling to Shree Charani in the 13th over, thus ending a 44-run partnership. Harshitha contributed 33 runs before being run out in the 17th over, causing Sri Lanka to lose momentum as they concluded their innings at 128 for 9. Shree Charani (2/23) and Vaishnavi Sharma (2/32) were the standout bowlers for India.

In response, Shafali Verma spearheaded India’s chase with a remarkable unbeaten 69 off 34 balls. She added 29 runs alongside Smriti Mandhana, who managed 14 off 11. Jemimah Rodrigues contributed 26 off 15, propelling India to 113 runs in the first 10 overs and completing the chase at 129 for 3 in just 11.5 overs, with Richa Ghosh scoring the winning run.