Women's ODI Tri Series: Sri Lanka chase down record total against India

The Indian Women's cricket team faced three-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in the 2025 Women's ODI Tri National Series in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sunday.

This was the first defeat for the Indian team on the tour, that too with a good total of 275 runs on the board. In fact, it was Sri Lanka's highest run chase against India in women's ODI cricket.

Here are the key talking points from the match:

#1. Indian Batters fail to capitalize

India batters had a good start to the inning as Smriti Mandhana (18) and Pratika Rawal (35) made a half-century partnership for the first wicket. But, both batters could not continue the momentum and lost their wickets.

With this, Pratika's streak of five consecutive fifties has also ended.

After the departure of openers, Harleen Deol (29), Harmanpeet Kaur (30), and Jemimah Rodrigues (37) tried to continue the scoring rate.

All of these five Indian batters got their starts but could not convert them into a big score as India lost half of its wickets in just 35 overs.

#2. Richa Ghosh's blistering knock

Richa Ghosh once again came to the rescue of the Indian team. She scored a brilliant 58 off 48 balls, hitting three big sixes, to give a blistering finish to Indian innings.

Thanks to her crucial knock, India posted a solid total of 275 runs on the board and forced Sri Lanka to do something which they have never done before.

#3. Nilakshi the saviour

Sri Lanka had a steady start to the big chase of 276 runs and crossed the 200-run mark in around 35 overs with the loss of just four wickets.

However, India bounced back and took a couple of quick wickets in next five overs, making it difficult for Si Lanka. But then, Nilakshi De Silva eased the pressure with a few big shots.

She continued the momentum and completed her quick fire half-century, taking Sri Lanka to such a comfortable position that even after her departure on 56 in 33 balls, there was no run-rate pressure on the new batters.

Anushka and Sugandika Kumari ensured that Nilakshi's effort would not be wasted and chased down the total with five balls to spare.

Nilakshi was also adjudged as the player of the match for this match-winning knock of hers.

#4. Sneha Rana - the lone warrior

Sneh Rana, the in-form Indian bowler in this series, had yet another impressive performance for her side, picking up 3 wickets for just 45 runs in her spell of 10 overs.

Despite her efforts, the Indian team could not restrict Sri Lanka as she didn't get much support from the other bowlers. She also had the best economy rate of the match among all Indian bowlers.

With this performance, Sneh Rana has also reached the double digits in her wicket-column, the only bowler to do so so far in this series, having 11 wickets in just 3 matches.

#5. What's next?

The Indian team will be in action for their final pool match on the 7 May, 2025 against South Africa and a win in that match will confirm India's place in the final of the tournament.