After a terrific run in the ODI World Cup 2025, India Women’s team began their campaign in the five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka on Sunday, December 21, 2025, with a victory. The host team defeated Sri Lanka Women in the run chase by eight wickets with wonderful batting from Player of the Match Jemimah Rodrigues, who scored a half-century.
India Women started the innings with bowling after winning the toss. Led by Chamari Athapaththu, Sri Lanka, however, lacked in their batting performance. Only the top four batters managed to get some decent scores, including Vishmi Gunaratne (39 off 43), Chamari (15 off 12), Hasini Perera (20 off 23), and Harshitha Samarawickrama (21 off 23).
At the end of the innings, Kaushini Nuthyangana remained not out at 9 runs off 6 balls, and Sri Lanka somehow set the target of 121 in 20 overs. The Indian bowlers restricted Sri Lanka’s batting line-up with success and lost six wickets in the innings, including two run outs from Richa Ghosh. One wicket each came from Kranti Gaud, Deepti Sharma, and Sree Charani.
Moving ahead to the run chase, only four Indian batters came on the field and managed to finish the job in 15 overs. Opener Smriti Mandhana set the tone, scoring 25 runs off 25 balls. Meanwhile, Shafali Verma left early at 9 runs after Sri Lanka’s Kawya Kavindi struck with the ball.
India Women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur was not out at 15 runs off 16 balls. Joining her was Jemimah, the team’s and match’s highest scorer. The middle-order batter remained undefeated at 69 runs off 44 balls, including 10 boundaries scored at the strike rate of 156.81.
The India Women’s team lost only two wickets against the opponent, with bowlers Kavindi and Inoka Ranaweera claiming one each. India finishes the run chase in 14.4 overs.
Player of the Match Jemimah Rodrigues
Talking about her gameplay post-match, Jemimah says that she kept her calm and composed before going to bat, which helped her react well to the game and score adequate runs for the team. She also reveals that the team is aiming to win the T20 Women’s World Cup, and this series adds to their preparation well.
She said, “For me, it was to understand the conditions. It was slightly sticky, not as flat as everyone initially though. I was in good touch. My mindset was simple. In my mind I was blank, I was just reacting to the ball. We have been going really well. What has happened in the past has happened. What’s next? It is the T20 WC. We just want to win that.”
