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India leg-spinner Parshavi Chopra with her sensational spell of 4/5 guided India to a convincing seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their fourth Super Six match of the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup at Senwes Park, on Sunday.
After a loss against Australia yesterday, India bounced back with a dominating win in a crucial game against Sri Lanka to boost their chances of making the semi-finals.
Chopra was disciplined and accurate with her line and length, grabbing 4/5 from her spell of four overs, which also included a maiden.
After opting to field first, India got off to a dream start with right-arm pacer Titas Sadhu and left-arm spinner Mannat Kashyap reducing Sri Lanka to 8/2 within the first two overs.
Sri Lanka’s scoring options were restricted with the bowlers consistently bowling challenging lengths and asking questions to induce mistakes through the Powerplay overs. In the sixth over, Kashyap trapped Dewmi Vihanga (2 from 10) lbw to ensure that Sri Lanka were reduced to 22/3 at the end of the powerplay.
16-year-old Parshavi took the key wicket of Sri Lanka captain Vishmi Gunaratne, who was bowled while coming down the wicket on the last ball of the 10th over as Sri Lanka were in deep trouble at 31/4 after the end of 10 overs.
The Sri Lanka skipper was dismissed on 25 off 28 balls, hitting two fours after getting a start, while the rest of the batting lineup collapsed around her as Sri Lanka was eventually reduced to 59/9 in their allotted 20 overs.
A thumping win for India as they move up in the Super 6 table 😍
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Umaya Rathnayake scored 13 off 36 balls and was the only batter apart from Gunaratne who managed to reach the double figures with the bat.
Apart from Parshavi’s 4/5, Mannat Kashyap took 2/16 from her four overs, while Titas Sadhu (1/10) and Archana Devi (1/15) took one wicket each.
While chasing a small total, India captain Shafali Verma started the innings with an aggressive intent, hitting one six and a four for her 15 off 10 balls, while her in-form opening partner Shweta Sehrawat got dismissed for 13 off 17 with a four just as she was getting into her groove.
Richa Ghosh got out caught off Dewmi Vihanga after hitting her first ball to the fence for a four. However, Sri Lanka could do nothing to stop Soumya Tiwari, who remained unbeaten on 28 from just 15 deliveries, and smashed five boundaries to help India reach their target in just 7.2 overs with 76 balls remaining.
With this emphatic 7-wicket win, India have now improved their net run rate significantly and reached on top in the Group 1 points table. They now face a nervy wait to see what else transpires in their Super Six group. They sit on six points, while Australia and Bangladesh have four each. Both those sides still have one last match to play against UAE and net run rate will become a deciding factor if they both emerge victorious.
Parshavi Chopra was awarded Player of the Match for her brilliant figures of 4/5 from her fours overs, including one maiden.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 59/9 in 20 overs (Vishmi Gunaratne 25, Umaya Rathnayake 13; Parshavi Chopra 4-5, Mannat Kashyap 2-16) lost to India 60/3 in 7.2 overs (Soumya Tiwari 28 not out, Shafali Verma 15, Shweta Sehrawat 13; Dewmi Wijerathne 3-34) by 7 wickets.
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