NEW DELHI: Renuka Singh Thakur and Deepti Sharma set the tone with the ball before Shafali Verma’s explosive batting sealed a commanding eight wicket win for India over Sri Lanka in the third women’s T20I on Friday, helping the hosts clinch the five match series.
With the victory, India moved to an unassailable 3-0 lead, once again asserting their dominance over Sri Lanka. The match followed a familiar pattern, with India first tightening the screws with the ball before cruising through the chase with ease.
A win by 8⃣ wickets ✅
Series sealed ✅#TeamIndia with yet another complete show 🍿Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/Vkn1t7b6Dm#INDvSL , @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/3Tg10Qa5WJ
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) December 26, 2025
Renuka returned impressive figures of 4/21 on her comeback, while Deepti continued her remarkable run to become the joint highest wicket taker in women’s T20Is. Together, they restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 112 for seven.
Shafali then took center stage in the chase. The opener smashed an unbeaten 79 off just 42 balls, finishing the contest with 40 balls to spare and leaving Sri Lanka with no way back into the game.
Renuka and Deepti choke Sri Lanka
Playing her first T20I since December last year, Renuka made an immediate impact with the new ball, unsettling the Sri Lankan top order and swinging momentum decisively India’s way.
Deepti once again proved her value with a controlled spell of 3/18. Her timely breakthroughs kept Sri Lanka under constant pressure and also saw her draw level with Australia’s Megan Schutt at the top of the women’s T20I wicket charts with 151 wickets.
Shafali blitz powers India home
Chasing a modest target, Shafali picked up where she had left off in the previous game, going on the attack from the outset to bring up her second successive half century.
After starting with a few quiet deliveries, she danced down the track to launch a massive six over long off, before following it up with a flurry of boundaries. Timing the ball sweetly, she struck 11 fours and three sixes in an entertaining knock.
Kavisha Dilhari briefly slowed India’s progress by removing Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues, but the result was never in doubt. Shafali finished the chase in style with a boundary, capping off a dominant all round performance from India.
Earlier, Sri Lanka had shown some intent at the top as Hasini Perera struck a couple of boundaries in the opening over. She mixed caution with creativity, including a scoop over the wicketkeeper, to ease pressure on captain Chamari Athapaththu.
India responded swiftly. Deepti dismissed Athapaththu, before Renuka returned to strike twice in an over, removing Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama. Another blow followed when Renuka trapped Nilakshika Silva leg before.
A brief stand between Kavisha Dilhari and Imesha Dulani offered some resistance, but Deepti broke it by dismissing Dilhari to claim her 150th T20I wicket. From there, India kept chipping away to ensure Sri Lanka were held to a below par total.
(With PTI Inputs)
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