Harmanpreet shines as India seal 5-0 T20I whitewash against Sri Lanka in a nail-biter

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) (India), December 30 : A fine fifty by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and a fine bowling performance in the second half of 176 run defence helped India beat Sri Lanka by 15 runs in the fifth and final T20I on Tuesday.
India has captured a 5-0 series whitewash over SL.
During the run chase of 176, Sri Lanka faced an early setback with the loss of skipper Chamari Athapaththu for a five-ball two to Arundhati Reddy, courtesy a clean catch from Deepti Sharma at extra cover. SL was 7/1 in 1.5 overs.
Imesha Dulani immediately made a mark with two fours against Deepti. She and Hasini Perera launched a counter-attack, getting effortless boundaries against spin and pace, ending the powerplay at 48/1, with Dulani (27*) and Perera unbeaten (17*).
SL touched 50-runs in 6.2 overs. The onslaught continued with SL at 75/1 halfway through, needing 101 runs in the final 10 overs.
Dulani reached a dominant fifty in just 38 balls, with eight fours. But Amanjot Kaur ended the 79-run stand, sending Dulani back for a 39-ball 50. SL was 86/2 in 11.1 overs.
Spinners brought India back into the contest as Deepti got her record-breaking 152nd T20I wicket by removing Nilakshi de Silva for just three, and Vaishnavi Sharma got Kavisha Dillhari for five. SL were four down for 107 in 14.3 overs.
Hasini reached her fifty in 37 balls, with six fours. But after taking down Shree Charani with a four and six, the Indian spinner had the last laugh, getting her for 42-ball 65, with eight fours and a six. SL was 132/5 in 16.4 overs.
From there, SL could not recover and were restricted to 160/7 in 20 overs, with Rashmika Sevwandi (14*) and Malki Mandara (5*) unbeaten.
Deepti, Arundhati, Sneh Rana, Charani, Vaishanvi and Amanjot got a wicket each.
Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's brilliant fifty, along with a fiery cameo from Arundhati Reddy in the last over, powered India to 175/7 in the fifth and final T20I against Sri Lanka.
Reddy (27* in 11 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Sneh Rana (8*) added a vital 33 runs off 14 balls for the 8th wicket to help India reach a fighting total. Reddy slammed 20 runs off Malki Madara in the last over.
Visiting team captain Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and elected to field. India had a shaky start, losing Shafali Verma for five runs while debutant G. Kamalini scored 12. Harleen Deol had a promising start but failed to convert it into a big score, as she was also removed for 13 off 11 balls in the 7th over.
Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh also failed with a 5-run knock, as she was dismissed by Athapaththu in the 9th over. Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur held one end, but India went four down against Sri Lanka inside 10 overs.
All-rounder Deepti Sharma soon followed Ghosh as Athapaththu's slow off-spin undid her.
Sharma tried to slog the ball towards mid-wicket but only managed to top-edge the ball into the hands of Nimasha Madushani.
Kaur, along with Amanjot Kaur, advanced the innings. Amanjot rotated the strike while Kaur smashed boundaries at regular intervals. Kaur, in the 15th over, took on Athapaththu, smashing her for two back-to-back fours to bring up her fifty.
Rashmika Sewwandi broke the 61-run stand for the 6th wicket as she removed Amanjot for 21 runs off 18 balls.
Kaur, after playing a brilliant knock of 68, was cleaned up by Kavisha Dilhari in the 18th over, putting India on the back foot.
India finished on 175/7, setting a target of 176 for the visitors to avoid a clean sweep in the five-match T20I series.