Nimasha madushani

Sri Lanka Women: Smriti Mandhana struck a brilliant 80 off 48 balls while Shafali Verma continued her good run by hitting 79 off 46 deliveries, her third successive half-century in this series, as India posted a massive 221/2, their highest women’s T20I score, against Sri Lanka in the fourth T20I at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.

Asked to bat first for the first time in the series, Smriti and Shafali laid the foundation for the tall score with a blistering 162-run opening stand, India’s highest-ever partnership for the first wicket in T20Is.

Shafali continued her rich vein of form with her third consecutive fifty, which was laced with 12 fours and a six. Smriti, on the other hand, took her time to get going before matching her partner stroke for stroke in a knock where she hit 11 fours and three sixes. Though both fell in successive overs, Richa Ghosh applied finishing touches with an unbeaten 40 off just 16 balls. Her late assault, coupled with Harmanpreet Kaur’s 16 not out off 10 balls, ensured India closed with a flourish by adding 63 runs in the last five overs.