India women vs Sri Lanka women Highlights, Asia Cup Final T20: Harshitha, Chamari power SL to their maiden title

India women vs Sri Lanka women Live score, Asia Cup Final T20 Match

India women vs Sri Lanka women Highlights, Asia Cup Final T20 Match: Chamari Athapaththu (61) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (69 not out) shone brightly as Sri Lanka thrashed India by eight wickets to win their first ever Women’s T20 Asia Cup title on Sunday. Chasing 166, Sri Lanka showed no qualms in knocking off the target in 18.4 overs to score 167/2 and win with eight balls to spare. Earlier, Smriti Mandhana (60) and Richa Ghosh (30) fired as India posted 165 for 6 against Sri Lanka in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup final.

Mandhana dropped anchor to make 60 from 47 balls (10 fours) as she led a resolute fight for India. Earlier, India lost two wickets in quick successions as Shafali Verma (16) and Uma Chetry departed after powerplay, which derailed their inning. Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss as unchanged India opted to bat first against Sri Lanka in the final of Women's Asia Cup T20. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka make one change to their XI. The stage is set for the big ticket Women's Asia Cup finale, and Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. will look to extend their dominant run when they take on hosts Sri Lanka. India's primary focus will be on bringing the continental trophy back home. The two teams have remained unbeaten thus far in the tournament, and the one that lets their guard down will end up on the losing side.

India have played an attacking brand of cricket this tournament and dominated the opposition team in all three departments. The top-order has fired consistently while the middle-order has also done their job well, with players like Harmanpreet and Richa Ghosh showing their power-hitting abilities. In the semi-final, Renuka Singh's three-wicket burst, followed by Smriti Mandhana's brisk unbeaten fifty, underlined India's ruthless performance as the defending champions walloped Bangladesh by 10 wickets.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka edged past Pakistan with a 3-wicket win in the semi-final clash. Chamari Athapaththu, who is the highest run-getter in the event with 223 runs, single-handedly guided the Lankans close to the target of 141, making a well-paced 63 off 48 balls (9x4, 1x6). Her fifty and Anushka Sanjeevani's unbeaten 24 (22b, 1x4, 1x6) helped Lanka to reach 141 for 7 in 19.5 overs.

India dominate the head-to-head record against Sri Lanka in WT20Is. Out of the 24 matches that they have played against each other, India have won 19 matches and Sri Lanka four, with one match having no result.

India's Deepti Sharma is the leading wicket-taker of this event with nine wickets and Renuka is third on the chart with seven scalps.

But their economy rate across four matches has been brilliant – 4.37 and 4.31, respectively. It ensured that the opposition batters have no breathing space at the top or in the middle overs, phases when Renuka and Deepti often operate.

It has also aided other bowlers, as batters often look for relief shots against them, and left-arm spinner Radha Yadav offers a prime example.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka rely heavily on Athapaththu in the batting department as none of their other batter has failed to breach the 100-run mark as Rushmi Gunarathne is a distant second with 91 runs.

Their bowling department is also going through a similar tale with over-reliance on one bowler. Except off-spinner Kavisha Dilhari (7 wickets, economy 5.35), others Lankan bowlers have failed to make an impact as yet.

In that context, the Islanders will require a quick all-round improvement against a settled India to have a smidgeon of chance even to stretch it.

Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla has been the designated venue for the entire Women’s Asia Cup, hosting 14 matches. In the tournament, nine times the teams have won that are chasing. India’s 201/5 against UAE is the highest score at this venue. The surface favours both pacers and the spinners.