Mithali Raj’s fifty guides Indian women’s team to series win
Indian Women's cricket team
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An unbeaten 51 from skipper Mithali Raj helped Indian women’s cricket team chase down 108 to register a five-wicket win in the second T20 match against Sri Lanka, and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series at the JSCA International Stadium complex in Ranchi on Wednesday.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka Women 107/8 in 20 overs (Surangika 27 (25), Yadav 3/17, Bisht 3/22) lost to India Women 108/5 in 19 overs (Raj 51* (52), Patil 34 (33), Ranaweera 3/10)
After winning the toss, Sri Lankan captain Shashikala Siriwardene opted to bat first and got off to a slow start. Shikha Pandey struck in the sixth over to remove opener Yasoda Mendis for three runs, but Chamari Atapattu, Dilani Manodara and Shashikala Siriwardene made 22,27 and 26 respectively to take Sri Lanka towards the 100-run mark before a middle-order collapse restricted them to 107 for 8 in the allotted 20 overs. Spinners Ekta Bisht and Poonam Yadav took three wickets each to shine for the Indian eves with the ball.
Chasing a moderate target of 108, India was off to a bad start losing four wickets for 27 runs in the first seven overs. Vellaswamy Vanitha, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Veda Krishnamurthy returned to the pavilion in quick succession, with left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera taking three off the four wickets.
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However, skipper Mithali Raj and Anuja Patil steadied the innings and took India to the brink of victory with a 77-run partnership before Patil fell for a 33-ball 34 to Kaushalya. With just four runs needed from 13 balls, Mithali Raj brought up his half-century and finished India’s chase in the 19th over to register a five-wicket victory and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
The third and final T20 of the series will take place on Friday, February 26 at Ranchi.
