Allround trio help India make winning start

India's lower-order produced a stirring fightback to rescue their innings after a shaky start against Sri Lanka as the hosts began their campaign with a 49-run win (DLS method) in the opening match of the 2025 Women's World Cup in Guwahati. From a precarious 124 for 6, fifties from Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma, and some late hitting from Sneh Rana, carried India to a competitive total of 269/8 in a game reduced to 47 overs because of a few rain interruptions. Pursuing a DLS-revised target of 271, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 211, with Deepti, Rana and Shree Charani doing the bulk of the damage.

After Sri Lanka chose to field, India lost Smriti Mandhana early. Pratika Rawal and Harleen Deol then went into rebuilding mode, but their 67-run stand for the second wicket came at a trickle. Boundaries were hard to come by as the Sri Lankan bowlers, led by spinners, tied them down. The lack of momentum only added to the pressure, and wickets started tumbling. Inoka Ranaweera was the chief destroyer, weaving her way through the middle order. Having dismissed Rawal in the 20th over, she struck thrice in the 26th, accounting for Harleen, Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur in a decisive spell. Richa Ghosh fell soon after to Chamari Athapaththu, leaving India reeling.

But Amanjot and Deepti combined for a partnership of real substance. Mixing caution with calculated aggression, the pair steadied the innings with good rotation of strike before gradually opening up. Their century partnership not only lifted India beyond 200 but also drained the sting from Sri Lanka's bowlers, who looked out of sorts towards the end while the fielders also put down multiple chances to reprieve Amanjot.

Both brought up well-crafted half-centuries - Amanjot becoming the first half-centurion of the World Cup as she finished with five fours and a six. Deepti, who got three boundaries, ensured good strike rotation and scored at a run-a-ball. The finishing touches came from Rana, whose late cameo injected much-needed momentum in the closing overs. She struck two fours and as many sixes as India got 34 runs in the last two overs.

Sri Lanka started the chase well as Athapaththu and Hasini Perera struck regular boundaries, with the former also sending a Kranti Gaud delivery over point for a six. The bowler, however, had some success soon after a she had Perera bowled to end a 30-run opening stand. Harshitha Samarawickrama came out with a positive mindset, scoring three fours in an over off Amanjot as Sri Lanka had a productive first powerplay of 9 overs, getting 45. India brought on spin soon after but Athapaththu was quick to dominate, getting two sixes and two fours in Deepti's first overs, which yielded 23 runs. But the spinner had the last laugh, having the left-hander bowled for 43 to bag a crucial wicket.

The Indian bowlers, led by Rana, tightened the screws following the dismissal of the Sri Lankan skipper, leading to a boundary drought followed by a deluge of wickets. Harshitha Madavi was leg-before to Shree Charani while Vishmi Gunaratne was trapped in front by Amanjot. Kavisha Dilhari and Nilakshi de Silva struck a few boundaries as they tried to fight back but Deepti came back on and dismissed Kavisha and Anushka Sanjeewani as Sri Lanka slipped to 140/6. Nilakshi kept the fight going and also got a lucky break. But Rana had her bowled attempting a reverse paddle sweep, and also picked up the wicket of Achini Kulasuriya. Rawal bagged the last wicket, trapping Ranaweera in front, as India completed a comfortable win after the initial hiccups.

Brief scores: India 269/8 in 47 overs (Amanjot Kaur 57, Deepti Sharma 53; Inoka Ranaweera 4-46, Udeshika Prabodhani 2-55) beat Sri Lanka 211 in 45.4 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 43, Nilakshi de Silva 35; Deepti Sharma 3-54, Sneh Rana 2-32) by 59 runs (DLS method).