Sri Lanka Women win toss, opt to bowl against India in 5th T20I

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], December 30 (ANI): Sri Lanka Women won the toss and decided to bowl first in the fifth T2OI of the five-match series against the Harmanpreet Kaur-led India at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
Team India Women are coming into the fifth India vs Sri Lanka T20I after defeating the Asian counterparts in all four previous T20Is and will look to complete a 5-0 clean sweep.
Playing XI of both teams:
India Women: Shafali Verma, G Kamalini, Richa Ghosh(w), Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Arundhati Reddy, Vaishnavi Sharma, Shree Charani.
Sri Lanka Women: Hasini Perera, Chamari Athapaththu(c), Imesha Dulani, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Rashmika Sewwandi, Kaushani Nuthyangana(w), Nimasha Madushani, Inoka Ranaweera, Malki Madara.
In the fourth T20I, India Women delivered a dominant all-round performance to secure a commanding win after posting 221/2. Openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma laid the foundation with a breathtaking 162-run opening stand. Verma smashed 79 off 46 balls, while Mandhana followed with a fluent 80 off 48, also becoming only the fourth woman to complete 10,000 international runs. Late fireworks from Richa Ghosh (40 off 16)* and Harmanpreet Kaur (16 off 10)* propelled India beyond the 220 mark.
In reply, Sri Lanka showed early intent, led by captain Chamari Athapaththu's fighting 52 off 37 and a brisk 33 off 20 from Hasini Perera. The openers added 59 runs, and Athapaththu later stitched a crucial stand with Imesha Dulani (29) to keep Sri Lanka in contention. However, momentum waned after Vaishnavi Sharma dismissed Athapaththu, slowing their innings.
Despite late resistance from Nilakshika Silva (23 off 11)*, Sri Lanka fell well short of the massive target. Vaishnavi Sharma (2/24) and Arundhati Reddy (2 wickets) were the standout bowlers for India. (ANI)