In what was the first international women\u2019s game at the Greenfield International Stadium, Renuka Singh Thakur and Deepti Sharma picked seven wickets between themselves as India restricted Sri Lanka to 112\/7, and was followed by opener Shafali Verma smashing an unbeaten 79 to complete the chase with 6.4 overs to spare.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI think the contribution from our bowlers has been a highlight because in T20 cricket, the bowling is very important. If you keep ticking all the boxes in your bowling department, you have more chances to win the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cToday, we are in this position because of our bowlers. Credit goes to all our bowling lineup for the way they bowled in this series. They are the ones who always give us a breakthrough, first six overs -- their top-order is very important to get the wicket,\u201d said Harmanpreet in the post-match presentation ceremony.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Renuka got into the playing eleven in place of a rested Arundhati Reddy, and Harmanpreet was pleased with her return to the side. \u201cToday we wanted to go with Renuka, so that she can give us that breakthrough. First over was not something we were expecting. After that, how she came back and took those crucial four wickets -- that is something we were looking for.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Harmanpreet further said the team\u2019s dominant showing against Sri Lanka reflected their bid to raise standards and play more aggressively in the build-up to next year\u2019s T20 World Cup, to be played in England.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt was a great series for all of us. That's what we discussed when we got together after the World Cup: we have to raise our standard. Be a little more aggressive in T20, we all know the T20 World Cup is coming up, this is the right time to push ourselves, so really happy with the overall performance,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu acknowledged her team's batting struggles throughout the series, but took note of positives in individual performances from Imesha Dulani and Kavisha Dilhari.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"I feel we are not playing our best cricket throughout the tournament. So, as a batting unit, we struggle a lot. We need to improve those areas. We are playing our best batting lineup. For the last six months, we have been using those players as a batting unit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu acknowledged her team's batting struggles throughout the series, but took note of positives in individual performances from Imesha Dulani and Kavisha Dilhari.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cStill, we try to find a few players before the World Cup, because we rest 5-6 players in our team. We need to improve those areas before the next World Cup. We have two bilateral series coming up, so I hope we can perform in both bilateral series,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n