Jemimah stars in India's comprehensive eight-wicket win against Sri Lanka in first women's T20I
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Jemimah Rodrigues executed her shots with great skill and style en route to a scintillating, unbeaten 44-ball 69 as India crushed Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the first Women's T20 International here on Sunday.
Opting to field, India restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 121 for six after the visiting batters struggled to put away the loose balls, even as dew made its presence felt earlier than expected.
India completed the chase of 122 with as many as 32 balls to spare, as Rodrigues added 54 runs with Smriti Mandhana (25 off 25 balls) and 55 with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (15 not out off 16 balls) to help the home side take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
While she played some delectable strokes during her stay in the middle, the highlight of Rodrigues' innings was the four boundaries she struck in a single over bowled by left-arm wrist spinner Shashini Gimhani.
Earlier, the swashbuckling Shafali Verma launched the India innings with three boundaries in the first over, but could not sustain that for long as Gimhani took a neat catch after the batter flicked Kawya Kavindi in the air.
Mandhana was lucky as she got a boundary off a thick inside-edge off Kawya, and then, Rodrigues played a late cut off Malki Madara to find the fence.
ALSO READ: Metro services begin in Bhopal; excited residents flock to take rides, selfies
With India reaching 30 for one in four overs, Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu brought herself in, and Mandhana rocked back to work the ball through backward point for a boundary before getting another four with a lofted shot over extra-cover to bring up her 4000 runs in the T20I format.
Inoka Ranaweera cut short Mandhana's knock but Rodrigues and Harmanpreet got the job done for India without any further setback.
Earlier, opener Vishmi Gunaratne top-scored for the visitors with a 43-ball 39, while Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama chipped in with 20 and 21 respectively.
Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu got into the act straightaway, clipping an innocuous Kranti Gaud delivery off her pads for a four.
Player of the Series in India's triumphant campaign in the recent ODI World Cup, Deepti Sharma (1/20 in 4 overs) dived to keep what looked like a certain boundary to just one run in the next over, before Athapaththu got two fours in three balls off Gaud.
The left-handed Athapaththu's aggressive approach forced Gaud to go around the wicket and the young seamer struck with a change in angle, the ball going through the gap between bat and pad to disturb the Sri Lankan captain's stumps and give India their first breakthrough.
Hasini found a boundary when she worked a Gaud delivery towards the deep fine leg region before Harmanpreet introduced Deepti inside the powerplay.
Hasini missed out on a couple of loose balls to help Deepti start with a maiden, which saw the Islanders remain at 31 for one at the end of powerplay.
Bowling a lot slower than her other left-arm spin colleague Shree Charani, debutant Vaishnavi Sharma (0/16 in 4 overs) began her journey in international cricket with a tidy spell. The 20-year-old conceded just three runs in her first over.
Hasini played a premeditated reverse sweep to collect a four off Shree Charani, who spilled a relatively straightforward chance at short fine leg in the next over to give the Lankan batter a reprieve.
Had Charani held on to that ball, it would have given Vaishnavi his maiden wicket.
Desperately looking for quick runs, Hasini, however, fell in the next over when she played the ball to Gaud at short third after attempting a reverse sweep against Deepti.
Dew was already setting in and even though the India bowlers were struggling to grip the ball, they did exceedingly well to keep Sri Lanka at 55 for two in the first 10 overs.
Having a bad day on the field, Charani then dropped Harshitha Madavi off Arundhati Reddy.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Elephant calf brought from Bijnor kept under care at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
Pilibhit (PTI): A 19-day-old elephant calf, brought from Bijnor, was placed under care at the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) on Sunday, an official said and added that the calf got separated from its mother in the forest area of Bijnor.
The calf was born on December 2 in the Bijnor forest area and got separated from its mother shortly after birth, the official said.
The forest department made several attempts to reunite it with its mother, but without any success. To ensure the calf's safety and better care, it was decided to transfer it to the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve on the instructions of senior officials.
On Saturday, Deputy Director Manish Singh received the calf. Special arrangements have been made in the reserve for its care. It has been kept in a safe and clean environment to provide it with a natural setting and protect it from external noise and disturbances.
Singh told reporters that raising an 19-day-old calf is challenging.
It requires a special diet as a substitute for mother's milk and constant monitoring.
He said a special team has been formed to provide 24-hour care. Since the calf is very young, it is being cared for like a newborn baby.
According to Singh, the primary responsibility for monitoring the calf's health has been entrusted to PTR's veterinarian, Dr Daksh Gangwar. Under his supervision, a complete record of the calf's health checkups, diet, and body temperature is being maintained. The team is ensuring that the calf does not contract any infection.
