Indian Women's team got their Sri Lanka off on a positive note as they defeated the hosts by 34 runs at Dambulla on Thursday to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Jemimah Rodrigues who was making her return to the Indian team was among the pick of the lot as her unbeaten 36-run knock helped the Indian eves to a fight-worthy total of 138 runs.
Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and chose to bat first but the Indian side looked out of rhythm as they kept losing wickets. Former Sri Lankan skipper Inoka Ranaweera scalped three wickets as she troubled the Indian batters.
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In reply, the hosts could only score 104/5 in their respective 20 overs, with Radha Yadav picking up a couple of wickets although Kavisha Dilhari's unbeaten 47-run valiant effort went in vain.
Reduced to 27 for three inside seven overs, Sri Lanka never managed to get going in the run chase, which was further derailed by some tight bowling by seamer Deepti Pooja Vastrakar in the middle overs en route to a tidy spell of 4-1-13-1.
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Deepti Sharma gave India a flying start, dismissing opener Vishmi Gunaratne (0) in the second over. The senior off-spinner was at her miserly best in the powerplay and returned with figures of 3-1-9-1 to stymie the Sri Lanka's progress early on.
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Deepti also took a stunning catch running in from deep square leg to give Radha her second wicket of the day.
Kavisha Dilhari waged a lone battle for the hosts with a fighting 49-ball 47 (6x4), but the Indians' top-class bowling and fielding ensured their team emerged easy winners for a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
The second match of the series is slated for Saturday.
With inputs from PTI
