Visakhapatnam, Dec 23 : 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 womenâ??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 Indiaâ??s second-largest win over Sri Lanka in womenâ??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