Player of the Match
Player of the Match

11:53pm That will be a wrap from us for tonight. We will be back again tomorrow as defending champions Australia take on Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand. Until then, from Madushka, Sudeep, Thilak and myself (Shashwat), it is goodbye. Take care, folks!

Harmanpreet Kaur, India captain: It was not an easy game. We know in ICC tournaments, every game is important and is going to be high-pressure. In middle overs, batters managed well, despite losing wickets. The way they (Amanjot and Deepti) handled the situation, it was outstanding to watch. Really happy all the girls came together to try to win this game for the country. Having batting till number seven (eight) is biggest strength for us. Amanjot is someone who can contribute with both bat and ball for us. Deepti has been doing it (for some time for us). Harleen's innings also played a big role for us. Kranti has been a wicket-taking option for us. Amanjot can support from the other end. They gave us a good start. Sneh Rana and Deepti's overs were crucial and we were hoping they keep giving us wickets, and they gave us breakthroughs whenever the team needed. Charani's spell was also good to see. All did really well and what we were expecting. (On Deol and her injury) I think she will be fine.

Chamari Athapaththu, Sri Lanka captain: We executed our plans but we dropped a couple of catches, especially (Amanjot) Kaur's catch. We done three mistakes and it cost us. As a batting unit, we lost a couple of wickets early and in the middle overs, and that is where we lost this game. (On the areas they have strengthened) Inoka bowled really well and Udeshika because they have experience. The rest struggled a little bit. They have to think about it a little bit, we have to talk (with the coaches) and maybe reset our plans. We are calm, I still have faith in my youngsters because they have won more games for us. If they (Dilhari, Samarawickrama and Gunaratne) can perform, we have definitely more chance to win games. (On if they could have been more attacking in their approach) Definitely. I think we batted good in the powerplay. But after losing my wicket, our batters struggled a little bit. Chasing is not easy but we need to execute our right plans at the right time. If we keep losing wickets, it is not easy to chase. Harshitha and Vishmi struggled in the middle. I know the mistakes, if we can reset these plans, I know we can bounce back.

Deepti Sharma, Player of the Match: (On her partnership with Amanjot) It was a turning point. Because back-to-back wickets were falling. Wanted to have a long partnership (and bat till the 47-48th over). The things that we had planned, we executed it. No pressure at all because I am used to these types of innings and situations. Have played it in the past, and that partnership with Amanjot was important. I do not feel pressure, I enjoy my batting. On this type of pitch, I believe in my stock balls, and try to bowl stump to stump, while backing my strengths. First match always sets the tone and there are a lot of positives from the match, and hopefully in the rest of the tournament, we can keep performing this way and keep winning this way.

22,843 was the attendance in Guwahati today - a record attendance in any league match of a Women's World Cup - T20I or ODI, Sudarshanan tells me. The previous record was 15,395 at the women's T20 World Cup last year in Dubai in a game featuring India and Pakistan.

11:34pm A fairly comfortable win for India in the end. There was a period at the start, though, when it did not feel so, especially when Athapaththu was going strong. She started off well and seemed to have found an able ally in Samarawickrama. But Deepti, like she did with the bat, proved to be a point of difference by removing Athapaththu. SL, despite a few cameos post it, could not recover sufficiently enough and ultimately, failed to mount a sustained tilt at India's total.

Speaking of India, Deepti bagged three, but Rana was probably the pick of the bunch. The others were also good in patches, although there is still perhaps some room for improvement. A good work-out in the end for India, and they navigate past what could have been a potential banana skin.

45.4
W
Pratika Rawal to Ranaweera, OUT, big lbw shout, and the finger goes up! But hang on, this may not be the end of the game because Ranaweera has reviewed! Pushed in on a length on middle and off. Ranaweera seems to play all over it and gets pinned on the front pad. Seemed pretty adjacent but Ranaweera has reviewed because, well, why not. No bat involved. Three reds on Ball Tracking, and this is all over, Red Rover! India begin their Women's World Cup campaign with a commanding win, and despite being under all sorts of bother at one stage, they have done this with room to spare!

I Ranaweera lbw b Pratika Rawal 3 (11m 8b 0x4 0x6) SR: 37.5

45.3
0
Pratika Rawal to Ranaweera, no run, full on middle and off. Ranaweera comes forward and plays it back to the bowler
45.2
0
Pratika Rawal to Ranaweera, no run, back of a length outside off. Ranaweera taps it into the off side
45.1
2lb
Pratika Rawal to Ranaweera, 2 leg byes, slanted in on a length on off stump. Ranaweera shuffles across and laps it past the keeper. Fine leg is a little lackadaisical to cut it off and SL get two
45.1
1nb
Pratika Rawal to Ranaweera, 1 no ball, back of a length on off. Ranaweera hangs back and prods it towards mid wicket. And oh dear - a No ball has been called because India had too many fielders outside the ring. This is very ordinary from India...

Rawal again

END OF OVER:
45 | 2 Runs | SL-W: 208/9 (63 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 4.62, RRR: 31.50)

  • Udeshika Prabodhani14 (26b)
  • Inoka Ranaweera3 (3b)
  • Shree Charani8-0-37-2
  • Kranti Gaud9-0-41-1
44.6
0
Shree Charani to Prabodhani, no run, length outside off. Spins away a touch and Prabodhani, feeling for it away from her body, is beaten on the outside
44.5
0
Shree Charani to Prabodhani, no run, full just outside off. Prabodhani goes searching for it and slices it towards backward point
44.4
0
Shree Charani to Prabodhani, no run, length just outside off. Prabodhani comes forward and defends

SL Women 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st30AMCJK AthapaththuGWHM Perera
2nd52AMCJK AthapaththuH Samarawickrama
3rd21H SamarawickramaRMVD Gunaratne
4th2WK DilhariRMVD Gunaratne
5th25NND SilvaWK Dilhari
6th10MAA SanjeewaniNND Silva
7th33NND SilvaBMSM Kumari
8th11WGAKK KulasuriyaBMSM Kumari
9th15KDU PrabodhaniWGAKK Kulasuriya
10th12KDU PrabodhaniI Ranaweera