India Women and Sri Lanka Women are set to lock horns in the third T20I on Friday in Thiruvananthapuram. For the first time ever, the venue will host a women’s international match. India are one win away from sealing the series win, and that's what they would be aiming for heading into the third game.
The clash is heavily tilted in India’s favour as they have been incredibly dominant in the first two games. Showing the depth and balance, the hosts have outplayed Sri Lanka across all departments. Indian bowlers have been successful in picking up wickets in clusters and preventing Sri Lanka from building partnerships. And their batters have been clinical, maintaining a consistency.
For Sri Lanka, the series has been a tough reality check. The opening two games have highlighted the team’s heavy dependence on captain Chamari Athapaththu. There has been a lack of consistent support from the rest of the batting lineup, which has compounded the problems for Sri Lanka. The third match is a do-or-die encounter for the Lankan women in order to remain alive in the series. However, one more defeat would hand India an unassailable lead.
Head-to-head
Matches - 28
IND-W won - 22
SL-W won - 5
No result - 1
India possible XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Vaishnavi Sharma, N Shree Charani
Sri Lanka probable XI: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Vishmi Gunaratne, Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshika Silva, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), Kavisha Dilhari, Malki Madara, Inoka Ranaweera, Kawya Kavindi, Shashini Gimhani