India will look to extend their dominance and seal a fourth successive win when they take on Sri Lanka in the fourth Women’s T20 International at Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, having already wrapped up the five-match series.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side has been clinical throughout the contest, racing to a 3-0 lead without allowing Sri Lanka any real foothold. India’s control has been underlined by the ease of their chases, they have finished all three matches within 14.4 overs, lost no more than three wickets, and never faced a target higher than 129.
India’s bowlers have laid the foundation for that dominance. Deepti Sharma has picked up four wickets across two matches, while Renuka Singh Thakur matched that tally in a single outing at the Greenfield Stadium on Friday.
The toss has also worked in India’s favour, with Harmanpreet opting to field on all three occasions, allowing her bowlers to exploit conditions before the onset of dew. The advantage has been ruthlessly exploited, with no Sri Lankan batter managing to cross the 40-run mark in the series so far.
India have also used the series to test combinations. Arundhati Reddy featured in the first two matches before Renuka returned to the XI in the third, as the team management assessed its options ahead of bigger tournaments.
Also read: India go all out to seal series against Lanka
“We have been trying different combinations with the (T20) World Cup (2026) in mind. We want to keep our standards high after winning the (ODI) World Cup recently. And we want our standard and performance to remain high,” Renuka said at the post-match press conference.
The batting unit has complemented the bowlers with assurance, with Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues both scoring fifties to steer India home comfortably in earlier matches.
Smriti Mandhana, however, is yet to find her rhythm. The vice-captain has scored 40 runs in three matches at an average of 13.33 and a strike rate below 100, and will be keen to produce a more substantial contribution on Sunday.
The match could also offer opportunities to fringe players, with youngsters Gunalan Kamalini and Harleen Deol yet to feature in the series. India have already rotated through the rest of the squad, and the final two games may serve as further auditions.
Sri Lanka, led by Chamari Athapaththu, will be searching for a response after a disappointing series. Despite possessing capable batters such as Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari and Harshitha Samarawickrama, the visitors have failed to deliver a defining innings.
The Sri Lankan bowling attack, largely youthful, has also struggled to contain India’s batters, but the team will hope to put up a more competitive display as they seek redemption in the remaining fixtures.
The match begins at 7 pm.
Follow us
