U19 Women's T20 World Cup: Dominant India beat Sri Lanka by 60 runs, advances to Super 6

India achieved a solid 60-run victory over Sri Lanka on Thursday, securing their place in the Super 6 stage of the ongoing tournament. The Women in Blue demonstrated their strength by first defeating the West Indies in their opening match, then winning against Malaysia by 10 wickets, and finally overcoming Sri Lanka. With three straight wins, India topped Group A, earning six points and an impressive Net Run Rate of +5.035.

Batting first, the team led by Niki Prasad set a challenging target of 118 runs. Gongadi Trisha, who had recently regained her form against Malaysia, was the standout performer but just missed out on a half-century. The innings got off to a rocky start as both openers, G Kamalini and Sanika Chalke, were dismissed early in double wicket-maiden overs.

Despite a rain delay, the match continued without losing any overs. Captain Nikki Prasad added 11 runs before being bowled out by Aseni Thalagune. Trisha played a vital role, scoring 49 runs off 44 balls with five boundaries, highlighting her excellent form. Although Manudi Nayanakkara took her wicket, Mithila Vinod's quick 16 off 10 balls helped stabilize the innings. VJ Joshitha's aggressive batting against Rashmika Sewwandi propelled the team past the 120-run mark. For Sri Lanka, Methsara, Limansa Thilakarathna, and Thalagune each took two wickets.

Sri Lanka's chase got off to a disastrous start, losing five wickets for just 26 runs during the powerplay and collapsing to 12/5 in 4.2 overs. Shabnam Shakil took out Sumundu Nisansala and Dahami Sanethma, while Joshitha claimed the wickets of Sanjana Kavindi and Hiruni Hansika.

The Women in Blue bowled out Sri Lanka for a mere 58 runs, with Parunika taking 2 wickets for 7 runs in her 4 overs. Vaishnavi Sharma, who recently achieved a hat-trick and a five-wicket haul against Malaysia, added another wicket to her tally with figures of 1 wicket for 3 runs in her 4 overs.

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