Smriti Mandhana saved her best for the last as she slammed a century in the final of the Women’s ODI Tri-Series against Sri Lanka, helping India Women clinch the title with a crushing 97-run win in Colombo on Sunday.

Mandhana, who had only one fifty in the rest of the tournament, authored 116 off 101 balls as India posted a massive 342/7 after choosing to bat. This was the highest-ever total in women’s ODIs in Sri Lanka and also the second-highest in a knockout game in women’s ODIs.

On the personal front, this was Mandhana’s 11 ODI hundred, the third-most in women’s cricket.

Besides Mandhana, there were vital contributions from India’s top and middle-order batters, especially Harleen Deol (47), Harmanpreet Kaur (41) and Jemimah Rodrigues (44).

With a mountain of runs to chase, the Lankan women had a tough job on their hands. It became tougher when they lost opener Hasini Perera in the very first over of the chase.

Sri Lanka Women put up a gutsy resistance thereafter but the asking rate was too much for them. Captain Chamari Athapaththu hit 51, while Vishmi Gunaratne (36) and Nilakshika Silva (48) played cameos, but the hosts were still quite far from the target. Eventually, they were all out for 245 in 48.2 overs.

Pacer Amanjot Kaur and spinner Sneh Rana shared seven wickets among them to outplay the hosts. Off-spinner Sneh, with 15 wickets in the tournament, was adjudged as the Player of the Series.

After the match, India skipper Harmanpreet said: “Proud of the entire team, they really played good cricket.

“Really happy with the way we batted. The improvement never stops though, in areas like fielding, bowling and building good partnerships.”

Brief scores: India Women 342/7 in 50 ovs (Smriti Mandhana 116, Harleen Deol 47, Jemimah Rodrigues 44, Harmanpreet Kaur 41). Sri Lanka 245 in 48.2 ovs (Chamari Athapaththu 51, Amanjot Kaur 3/54, Sneh Rana 4/38). India Women won by 97 runs.