With 4 in a row India inches close to Semis

India took another step  towards clinching a semifinal spot with another convincing 16-run victory over Sri Lanka in the ICC Women’s World Cup.

India recorded their fourth win on the trot as they defended a respectable 232/8 by restricting the island nation to 216/7. India also maintained a clean slate against their sub-continental neighbours since the 2013 World Cup, having never lost a single ODI in all meetings. India’s battery of slow bowlers has choked the opposition time and again during the tournament so far. It was no different on the day as leg-spinner Poonam Yadav led the charge with twin blows, removing the dangerous Chamari Atapattu (25) and opener Nipuni Hansika (29). Left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht and off-spinner Deepti Sharma were also economical. The seasoned Jhulan Goswami provided important breakthroughs too. Skipper Mithali marshalled her resources well after another impactful half-century. The match decisively swung in India’s favour when Poonam, coming round the wicket, got the better of Atapattu with a flighted delivery that the Sri Lankan tried to sweep but missed the line to be bowled. An identical delivery saw Nipuni make a big stride forward for a slog sweep only to be stumped by Sushma Verma.

The Lankan innings never had the momentum and only one team could have won from that situation despite a gallant effort from Surangika. Earlier, Deepti and Mithali hit fine half-centuries to help India post a decent score. Deepti made 78 off 110 balls while Mithali (53 off 78) continued her good form with yet another 50-plus score to set the base for India’s total after the early dismissals of openers Punam Raut (16) and Smriti Mandhana (8). Veda Krishnamurthy (29) and Harmanpreet Kaur (20) stitched crucial 50 runs in just nine overs to help India get past the 230 mark. Electing to bat, India didn’t have the best of starts as Smriti departed early. She was soon followed by Punam in the 11th over that brought Mithali and Deepti at the crease. They shared 118 runs for the third wicket to not only steady India’s innings but create the perfect launchpad for others to follow.