India's Bowlers Shine as Renuka Singh and Deepti Sharma Star in T20I Victory
India Dominates Sri Lanka in T20I Clash
Pacer Renuka Singh Thakur made a spectacular comeback to the team, while Deepti Sharma achieved a milestone as the joint-highest wicket-taker in women's T20 internationals. India successfully limited Sri Lanka to a score of 112 for seven in the third match held on Friday.
In her first T20I appearance since December, Renuka showcased her skills with the new ball, taking 4 wickets for 21 runs and significantly shifting the momentum in favor of India by dismantling the Sri Lankan top order.
Deepti, with her impressive figures of 3 wickets for 18 runs, provided crucial support by taking timely wickets, marking her 151st wicket in women's T20Is, thus tying with Australia's Megan Schutt for the most wickets in the format.
Sri Lanka's Hasini Perera, aiming to keep her team in the series, started strong with a quick 25 runs, hitting two boundaries and scoring 12 runs in the first over bowled by Renuka.
Perera displayed a mix of caution and creativity, even managing to scoop the ball over the wicketkeeper for her fourth boundary, which helped ease the pressure on skipper Chamari Athapaththu, who struggled to rotate the strike early on.
However, India quickly regained control. Deepti provided the first breakthrough by dismissing Athapaththu, who attempted to charge down the pitch but ended up top-edging the ball to Harmanpreet Kaur.
Renuka, shaking off any rust, returned for her second spell and struck twice in the sixth over, first sending Perera back to the pavilion and then executing a sharp caught-and-bowled to dismiss Harshitha Samarawickrama, leaving Sri Lanka in a precarious position at 32 for 3.
She continued her impressive performance by trapping Nilakshika Silva leg-before in the 10th over, further tightening India's grip on the match.
Kavisha Dilhari and Imesha Dulani attempted to stabilize the innings with a 40-run partnership. However, just as Sri Lanka seemed to be recovering, Deepti claimed her 150th T20I wicket by dismissing Dilhari.
From that point onward, both Deepti and Renuka maintained the pressure, taking wickets at regular intervals and ensuring Sri Lanka could not regain their footing, ultimately restricting them to a disappointing total.