Harmanpreet, bowlers demolish Sri Lanka to hand India big NRR boost

On a slightly cooler evening in Dubai, with semi-final qualification hopes in the balance, India brought their A-game to the fore to thrash Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup 2024. They put on their best batting show - perhaps the best among all teams in the tournament so far - and then were clinical with the ball and on the field to send the Asia Cup champions packing from the tournament.

Batting first, India rode on half-centuries from Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur to post 172 for 3, the highest total in this T20 World Cup. They then skittled Sri Lanka out for 90 to register an 82-run win, India's biggest in T20 World Cups, with Arundhati Reddy and Asha Sobhana picking up three wickets apiece. As a result of their massive win, their net run rate (NRR) jumped to 0.576, better than Pakistan's and only behind Australia's. This is notable as their NRR had taken a beating following the 58-run defeat to New Zealand in their opening match.

Before Wednesday, India's opening stands against Pakistan and New Zealand were 18 and 11 respectively. In a tournament where batting first seemed to give teams an advantage, India batted second in both their matches. India got to bat first after Harmanpreet won her first toss and the openers set about their task steadily.

Sri Lanka pressed their spinners into service and both Shafali Verma and Mandhana found it tough to break free. Shafali took the aerial route for India's first four in the third over and did so again in the fourth and the fifth. She was on 24 off 20 in the fifth over; at that point Mandhana was on 6 off 10. But in a pattern different from the previous game, she was not being impatient or trying too hard.

Mandhana finally got going with a smack over the left-arm spinner Sugandika Kumari's head as India ended the powerplay on 41 for 0. She also slogged another left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera for a six over wide long-on in the next year to signal the gear change. India managed to hit at least one four in each over between the third and the ninth. Chamari Athapaththu kept India guessing by giving her bowlers one-over spells till the 13th over, by then Mandhana overtook Shafali to get to a fourth T20 World Cup half-century.

It took a run-out to end India's opening partnership at 98, their third-highest in T20 World Cups, when Athapaththu and Ama Kanchana - brought in for Hasini Perera - combined to catch Mandhana short on 50. On the very next ball, Athapaththu had Shafali miscuing a heave to cover. That over meant Athapaththu ended the one-spell strategy and bowled a second over in the spell - the 13th and the 15th overs.

Having batted at No. 4 against Pakistan, Harmanpreet came in at No. 3 and was soon joined by Jemimah Rodrigues before she even faced a ball. Few batters in the Indian line-up are at ease against spin than Rodrigues. She used the sweep to first put Ranaweera away and then moved in her crease to pull Athapaththu to the deep square leg boundary.

At the other end, Harmanpreet hit Kumari for a four and a six to ensure the openers' platform did not go to waste. Rodrigues soon fell for 16 off 10 - she was given a life at 13 when Kavisha Dilhari dropped a dolly at deep midwicket - but played a vital role in injecting momentum after two quick wickets.

By then, Harmanpreet, with a cushion of a long batting line-up to follow, cut loose. She first paddled Kanchana past short fine leg before hitting two fours to spoil Athapaththu's figures. Ranaweera could not hang on to a powerful hit at cover when Harmanpreet was on 22. She hit Kanchana and Prabodhani for two fours each in the last two overs to bring up only her third half-century in T20Is since the 2023 T20 World Cup. That blitz - 52 not out off just 27 balls - helped India take 46 off the last four overs, the most by any team in this T20 World Cup.

She had retired hurt against Pakistan due to a neck injury, and had come for the toss with a pain-relief patch on the right side of her neck but was termed fit for this game. However, she did not take the field in the chase, with Mandhana captaining the team.

Heading into the T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka had the most wins since April last year and their win-loss ratio was better than that of India and Australia. Because they had hunted down 166 to win their maiden Asia Cup title, it would have been a tad premature to write them off in the 173-run chase in Dubai. But India were on the money from the word go, and never let them even get a sniff.

An athletic effort from Radha Yadav, substitute for Harmanpreet, on the second ball of the chase set the tone. She ran back to her right from backward point and dived full length to catch a miscue from Vishmi Gunaratne. Mandhana then handed the new ball to Shreyanka Patil at the other end, ahead of Deepti Sharma. Patil responded by pushing one slightly quicker and getting it to spin away, enticing a defensive, hard-handed poke from Athapaththu to gather the edge to slip. When Renuka Singh had Harshitha Samarawickrama, the star of the Asia Cup final, feather an outside edge in the third over, the challenge was almost quelled.

Legspinner Asha then joined the party in the middle overs, picking up three wickets using the sharp spin available to undo the batters. Her biggest wicket was that of Anushka Sanjeewani, who was the enforcer in the 37-run fourth-wicket with Dilhari. After floating a few up to the batter, Asha pulled the length ball to deceive the Sri Lanka wicketkeeper, with Richa Ghosh stumping her. Asha and Reddy, the Player of the Match against Pakistan, struck regularly through the middle overs. Both finished with identical figures of 3 for 19, Reddy's efforts creditworthy after she was taken for 12 in her first over. For the third game in a row, Sri Lanka finished with a double-digit total in this competition.

It was an outing that raised India's hopes of a semi-final qualification, with their last league game against Australia on Sunday.