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2nd T20I: Shafali, Charani star as India thrash Sri Lanka Women by seven wickets

Visakhapatnam, Dec 23 (IANS) Opener Shafali Verma delivered an impressive unbeaten 69 as India Women tasted a strong seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka Women, finishing the match with 49 balls remaining at the Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA VDCA Cricket Stadium to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series. India’s bowlers, especially Shree Charani, set a solid foundation before Shafali completed the chase in style.

Choosing to bowl first, India struck quickly and kept Sri Lanka from gaining any momentum. They took wickets consistently, limiting the visitors to 128 for 9 in their 20 overs. Sri Lanka improved slightly from their 121 in the first T20I. Kranti Gaud continued her good form by taking down Vishmi Gunaratne for 1 in the first over, caught off the follow-through. Although Arundathi Reddy let a few runs slip early on, the Indian bowlers applied enough pressure to keep Sri Lanka from breaking free.

Sri Lanka managed to score 39 runs in the Power-play but faced difficulties, with skipper Chamari Athapaththu as their main contributor. Athapaththu hit two sixes in her 31 off 24 balls before falling to Sneh Rana, the only change in the lineup for the second T20I due to Deepti Sharma’s absence because of a fever. Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama stabilised the innings by rotating the strike, bringing Sri Lanka to 66 for 2 by the halfway point.

As the field opened up, Perera struggled to find the boundary and was eventually out for 22 off 28 balls, dismissed by Shree Charani in the 13th over, ending their 44-run partnership. Harshitha appeared confident during her knock and scored 33 before being run out in the 17th over.

Sri Lanka could not maintain their pace at the end, losing wickets rapidly. Nilakshi de Silva added just two runs before being dismissed by Vaishnavi Sharma, who took her first T20I wicket, as Sri Lanka finished at 128 for 9. Shree Charani (2/23) and Vaishnavi Sharma (2-32) were the top bowlers, with Kranti Gaud (1-21) and Sneh Rana (1-11) each taking one wicket.

In response, Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana started strong for India, putting together 29 runs before Mandhana was out for 14 off 11 balls. Jemimah Rodrigues took control next, hitting four fours and a six in her 26 off 15 balls before being caught at long off by Kawya Kavindi. India raced to 113 in the first 10 overs, their highest tally after the first 10 in women’s T20Is, surpassing the previous record of 111 against Malaysia Women at Hangzhou during the 2023 Asian Games.

Shafali continued her onslaught after the Power-play, reaching her 12th T20I fifty off just 27 balls. She ended her innings unbeaten on 69 off 34 balls, including 11 fours and a six. Harmanpreet Kaur scored 10 off 12 balls before being bowled by Malki Madara when the score was tied, and Richa Ghosh then hit the winning run in the 12th over, completing the chase at 129 for 3 in 11.5 overs.

This victory marked India’s second-largest win over Sri Lanka in women’s T20Is in terms of balls left, only behind the 69-ball win in Sylhet in 2022. The series now moves to Thiruvananthapuram for the third T20I on Friday, December 26.

Brief scores:

Sri Lanka Women 128/9 in 20 overs (Harshitha Samarawickrama 33, Chamari Athapaththu 32; Shree Charani 2-23, Vaishnavi Sharma 2-32) lost to India Women 129/3 in 11.5 overs (Shafali Verma 69 not out, Jemimah Rodrigues 26; Kavisha Dilhari 1-15) by seven wickets.

–IANS

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4th Test: Rahul and Jaiswal show patience to stitch unbroken 78-run opening stand

Manchester, July 23 (IANS) KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal showed immense patience and grit to stitch an unbroken opening stand and help India reach 78 for no loss in 26 overs at lunch on Day One of the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series against England at Old Trafford here on Wednesday.

After England won the toss and put India into batting first, Rahul was at his composed best and played late to be unbeaten on 40 off 82 deliveries. Jaiswal, meanwhile, showed patience and immaculate discipline in the face of England’s bowlers getting seam movement, to be 36 not out off 74 balls.

It was a session where England toiled hard and got movement plus bounce. But Rahul and Jaiswal ensured India didn’t lose a single wicket in the session, especially after skipper Shubman Gill felt it was a good toss to lose.

Jaiswal rode his luck when Chris Woakes repeatedly beat him on the outside edge, but the veteran pace bowling all-rounder couldn’t find an edge in his marathon eight-over spell, with the left-handed opener taking three fours off him while Rahul hit him for two boundaries.

When Brydon Carse came in, Rahul cut him twice to the boundary, before Jaiswal carved him in the gap between third slip and gully. Rahul went past 400 runs in the series and faced Jofra Archer more than his younger partner Jaiswal, who fell to the pacer twice at the Lord’s.

After cutting Ben Stokes for four, Jaiswal got a lucky boundary off Archer for four, before upper-cutting the England skipper for six, as he and Rahul helped India get through the session without losing a wicket and would start to get the edge ahead of England in the second session.

Brief scores:

India 78 for no loss in 26 overs (KL Rahul 40 not out, Yashasvi Jaiswal 36 not out) against England

–IANS

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Argentina’s Fennell becomes sixth cricketer to pick double hat-trick in T2OIs

Buenos Aires, Dec 16 (IANS) Argentina’s Hernan Fennell achieved a rare and incredible feat during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub Regional Americas Qualifier. The 36-year-old seamer picked up a double hat-trick – four wickets in four consecutive balls – against the Cayman Islands, becoming only the sixth player in T20I history to do so.

nald Ebanks and Alessandro Morris, completing four wickets in four deliveries. His brilliant spell ended with figures of 5-14.

Fennell joins Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan, Sri Lanka speedster Lasith Malinga, Ireland all-rounder Curtis Campher, West Indies veteran Jason Holder and Waseem Yaqoobr of Lesotho as bowlers to have completed a T20I double hat-trick.

Fennell also became just the sixth player in the history of men’s T20I to have picked up multiple hat-tricks, with the Argentina veteran having previously achieved the feat against Panama in Antigua in 2021 as part of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Americas Region Qualifier event.

Malta’s Waseem Abbas, Australia’s Pat Cummins, Serbia’s Mark Pavlovic, New Zealand’s Tim Southee, Malinga and now Fennell are the only players to have picked up more than one men’s T20I hat-trick.

Despite Fennell’s heroics, Argentina couldn’t chase down the Cayman Islands’ total of 116, falling short by 22 runs.

–IANS

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