Smriti Mandhana (80) and Shafali Verma (79) registered the highest partnership for India Women for any wicket, smashing 162 in just above 16 overs to lay the platform for a 30-run win in the fourth T20I against Sri Lanka Women in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
Thanks to the openers, India Women also posted their highest-ever total in T20Is, finishing at 221/2 as they bettered their previous best of 217/4 against the West Indies Women in Navi Mumbai a year ago.
Smriti, who was short of runs in the series, finally got a 50-plus while also entering the history books, becoming only the fourth batter after compatriot Mithali Raj, New Zealand’s Suzie Bates and England’s Charlotte Edwards to complete 10,000 international runs across formats in women's cricket. She was the quickest to the mark, reaching it in her 281st innings across formats. Mithali took 291 innings for the milestone, while Charlotte and Suzie took 308 and 314 innings, respectively.
The Sri Lankans got off to a flier in this inconsequential game, but couldn't maintain the tempo as the Indians restricted them to 191/6. Arundhati Reddy and spinner Vaishnavi Reddy picked up two wickets apiece, as India made the scoreline 4-0 in the series.
Brief scores: India Women 221/2 in 20 ovs (Smriti Mandhana 80, Shafali Verma 79). Sri Lanka Women 191/6 in 20 ovs (Chamari Athapaththu 52; Vaishnavi Sharma 2/24). India Women won by 30 runs.