IND W vs SL W | Twitter in awe as Harmanpreet’s knock helps India end 2025 on high with clean sweep

‌Harmanpreet Kaur scored a timely fifty to help India Women maintain a clean slate against Sri Lanka Women with a 15-run win in the fifth and final T20I in Trivandrum on Tuesday. The Indian skipper’s effort, along with Arundhati Reddy’s stunning cameo towards the end of the innings, helped the home side put on 175/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Meanwhile, the visitors collapsed after a promising start, remaining winless throughout the five-match series.

After being put into bat at the Greenfield International Stadium, the Indian top order had a rare off day, getting reduced to 77/5 inside the first 11 overs. The 17-year-old G Kamalini, who came into the side in place of the rested Smriti Mandhana, had a forgettable debut, making only 12 off 12 balls. Harmanpreet, then, rescued the hosts’ innings with a 61-run partnership with Amanjot Kaur for the sixth wicket. The veteran batter hit nine fours and a six during her knock of 68 off 43 balls, while Amanjot supported her with a valuable 21. But the dismissal of both set batters, in the space of four balls, with more than two overs to spare, put the Women in Blue on the back foot with the score reading just 142. However, Arundhati smashed four fours and a six during her unbeaten 11-ball 27 to take the side past the 150-run mark and to a competitive total. For the visitors, Kavisha Dilhari was impressive with a spell of 2/11 in two overs, with Rashmika Sewwandi and skipper Chamari Athapaththu also picking up two wickets each.

In reply, the Islanders lost Athapaththu in the second over, but fellow opener Hasini Perera and Imesha Dulani scored half-centuries to keep them in the contest. The latter hit eight fours to score 50 runs in 39 balls before her dismissal triggered a collapse, as the Lankans slipped from 86/1 to 107/4 by the 15th over. Meanwhile, Hasini top-scored for the visitors with 65 off 42 balls, including eight fours and a six, but her return had the writing on the wall. Though Rashmika tried her best with an unbeaten cameo of 14, the visitors fell short, ending at 160/7, with all the Indian bowlers who turned their arm, picking up a wicket each.