Women's T20 WC: Reddy, Sobhana rattle SL with three-fers
In a historic feat, the Indian women's cricket team registered their biggest win ever in the Women's T20 World Cup. They thrashed Sri Lanka by a whopping 82 runs in Match 12 at the Dubai International Stadium. The likes of Arundhati Reddy and Asha Sobhana were instrumental to India's triumph as they claimed three wickets apiece. Here we look at their stats.
Sri Lanka crumble in chase against India
Chasing a challenging 173, Sri Lanka crumbled early in their innings, losing three wickets for just six runs. Only three of their batters could reach double figures as they got bundled out for 90. The in-form Reddy sent back recognized batters like Kavisha Dilhari, Ama Kanchana, and Nilakshi de Silva. Leg-spinner Sobhana, meanwhile, sent back wicket-keeper Anushka Sanjeewani to open her account. Sugandika Kumari and Inoshi Priyadharshani were her other victims.
Career-best figures for Sobhana
Sobhana returned with figures worth 3/19 across four overs. As per ESPNcricinfo, the 33-year-old recorded her best figures. Playing her maiden WT20 WC, she now owns five wickets at 13. Overall, she has completed nine wickets across six WT20I matches. Her economy is a stunning 6.39. This was her maiden WT20I match against SL.
Another three-fer for Reddy
Like Sobhana, Reddy also returned with 3/19 in her four overs. She claimed identical figures in her preceding game against Pakistan. As per ESPNcricinfo, she has now raced to 28 wickets across 32 WT20Is (ER: 7.64). In WT20 WCs, she now has 11 wickets in nine games at 24. Reddy has seven scalps in six WT20Is against Sri Lanka.
Do you know?
Reddy became just the fourth Indian bowler to claim successive three-fers in WT20 WCs. She joined the likes of Anuja Patil, Ekta Bisht, and Poonam Yadav.
How did the game pan out?
Smriti Mandhana (50) and Shafali Verma (43) gave India a solid start with a 98-run opening stand. Harmanpreet Kaur (52) took over thereafter as India posted 172/3 batting first. The Lankans were off to a terrible start, having been reduced to 6/3. Anushka Sanjeewani (20) and Kavisha Dilhari (21) tried to fight but their efforts weren't fruitful as the tail of falling wickets continued. SL were folded for 90.
India's victory propels them to 2nd place
With this massive win, Team India has moved to the second spot in the points table, ahead of New Zealand who lost heavily to Australia. The team will next face Australia in a key league match on October 13. Their qualification for the next round will depend on the result of this match and New Zealand and Pakistan's performance in their remaining matches.
