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An 87-run stand between Vishmi Gunaratne (45) and Chamari Athapaththu (43) went in vain as superb bowling from India in the second half of the innings restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 125/7 in 20 overs in the second T20I of the three-match series here at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla on Saturday.
Batting first, Sri Lanka got off a good start. Openers Vishmi Gunaratne and Chamari Athapaththu were dealing in boundaries. India offered a good mix of spin with Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav and pace with Renuka Singh and Simran Bahadur but it bore little fruit and zero wickets. At the end of the powerplay, SL stood at 37/0 with Gunaratne (22*) and Athapaththu (11*). The duo reached their 50-run stand in 8.3 overs. At the end of 10 overs, SL stood at 60/0, with Vishmi Gunaratne (31*) and Chamari Athapaththu (24*). The duo kept on piling runs, Indian bowlers had no answers for their batting as they struggled for a breakthrough. Medium-pacer Pooja Vastrakar finally got a breakthrough in the 14th over, dismissing captain Athapaththu for 43 off 41 with assistance from the safe hands of Radha Yadav, breaking the 87-run opening stand. This brought Harshitha Samarawickrama to the crease. In 15 overs, Sri Lanka stood at 90/1 with Harshitha Samarawickrama (1*) and Vishmi Gunaratne (39*). SL crossed the 100-run mark in the 16.2 over. The duo of Samarawickrama and Gunaratne kept going with some solid strike rotation. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur provided her team with another wicket, catching and bowling out Gunaratne for a well-made 45. This brought Kavisha Dilhari to the crease. Spinner Deepti Sharma clinched another wicket, dismissing Harshitha Samarawickrama for 9 runs. She followed it with the scalp of Nilakshi de Silva for just 1, trapping her LBW. Hasini Perera was the next one to go, run out by wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia. Anushka Sanjeewani was the next one to come out. Sri Lanka had fumbled on a good start by losing too many wickets in the second half of the innings. Oshadi Ranasinghe was the next one to go for Sri Lanka, trapped by Radha Yadav for 5. Renuka Singh took wicket of Dilhari for just 2. SL innings concluded on a terrible note as tight bowling from India and reckless batting by SL in the second half restricted the hosts to 125/7 in 20 overs with Anushka Sanjeewani (6*) and Sugandika Kumari (1*) Deepti Sharma was the pick of the bowlers with 2/34. Singh, Yadav, Vastrakar and Kaur also took a wicket each. Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 123/7 (Vishmi Gunaratne 45, Chamari Athapaththu 43, Deepti Sharma 2/34) against India. (ANI)
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