India Aims to Clinch Series in Pivotal Third T20I Against Sri Lanka

India aims to clinch the five-match series with another commanding performance as they face a struggling Sri Lanka in the third women’s T20 International on Friday. The Indian team has showcased excellence with both bat and ball, achieving dominant victories in the first two T20Is, winning by eight and seven wickets respectively in Visakhapatnam, highlighting their supremacy over Sri Lanka. India has now secured nine wins in their last 11 T20Is against Sri Lanka, who last celebrated a victory against India in July 2024 at Dambulla.

India’s formidable batting lineup has seen various players shine in each game. Jemimah Rodrigues, recently named captain of the Delhi Capitals, played a pivotal role in the first T20I, while opener Shafali Verma completed the task in the second match. The bowling squad has been equally impressive, with spinners effectively limiting Sri Lanka to scores of 121 for 6 and 128 for 9. Young talents like N Shree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, and Kranti Gaud have stepped up, showcasing discipline and control. This depth was further evident when Sneh Rana delivered a stingy spell of 1 for 11 in four overs, in place of the unwell Deepti Sharma during the second game.

Fielding was a concern initially, with five dropped catches in the opening game, but India made significant improvements in the second match, executing three sharp run-outs. Under Harmanpreet Kaur’s leadership, India will strive to maintain their high standards as the series moves to Thiruvananthapuram, which will host the remaining matches.

Sri Lanka hopes for a change in fortune with the venue shift. The team has struggled with successive heavy defeats, clearly outmatched by India. Sri Lanka’s batting line-up has been particularly disappointing, having failed to set competitive targets in both matches despite promising starts, ultimately collapsing midway through their innings. Notably, in the first game, Vishmi Gunaratne managed only 39 off 43 balls, while Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama struggled to quicken the scoring rate. In the second T20I, a similar pattern emerged as they stumbled after captain Chamari Athapaththu’s dismissal, losing six wickets for 26 runs, ending with another substandard total.

Sri Lanka’s bowling attack has also lacked the needed penetration to challenge India’s deep batting order. After the second T20I, Chamari Athapaththu commented on their performance, “We had a good powerplay, but lost wickets, and struggled in the middle overs. Batters used the horizontal bat too much. We need to improve and aim for scores over 150 while rotating the strike and hitting more boundaries.”

The squads for the matches are as follows:

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Renuka Singh Thakur, Richa Ghosh (WK), G Kamalini (WK), N Shree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma.

Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (C), Hasini Perera, Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshika de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Imesha Dulani, Kaushini Nuthyangana, Malsha Shehani, Inoka Ranaweera, Shashini Gimhani, Nimesha Madushani, Kawya Kavindi, Rashmika Sewwandi, Malki Madara.

The match is scheduled to begin at 7 pm.

Published on Dec 25, 2025.