Renuka Singh, Deepti Sharma star as Shafali Verma seals series win for India

Summary: Strong bowling from Renuka and Deepti, followed by Shafali’s blistering batting, gives India a series victory.

India Women wrapped up the T20I series against Sri Lanka in style at Thiruvananthapuram, thanks to a clinical all-round performance led by the bowlers and a blazing innings from Shafali Verma. India’s convincing win handed them an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. 

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur once again decided to bowl first, and the decision worked perfectly. The bowlers kept things extremely tight, restricting Sri Lanka to 112/7. The standout performer was Renuka Singh, who took 4/21 and controlled the innings early, with crucial dismissals that broke the back of Sri Lanka’s batting. 

Supporting her brilliantly was Deepti Sharma, returning after illness and immediately slotting back into rhythm. She claimed three wickets and also reached a big personal milestone — becoming the joint-highest wicket-taker in women’s T20 internationals with 151 wickets. 

With a modest target in front of them, India’s chase was dominated by Shafali Verma, who scored an unbeaten 79 off 42 balls, striking from the onset and never letting Sri Lanka settle. Her powerful strokeplay and aggressive approach helped India cruise home with plenty of overs remaining and eight wickets in hand. 

The match showed India's ongoing momentum in the series. After the World Cup, the squad decided to play a more offensive style of cricket, and their recent performances have shown this. Harmanpreet said the team is happy with how they’re executing plans ahead of upcoming tournaments. 

With the series already secured, India can now experiment with combinations in the remaining matches, while Sri Lanka will be keen to salvage some pride and get at least one win before the tour ends.