Guwahati: India posted a competitive 269/8 in their rain-shortened 47 overs against Sri Lanka in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 opener, thanks to a sensational recovery led by Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur, capped off by a blistering cameo from Sneh Rana. After a catastrophic mid-innings collapse left them reeling at 124/6, the Indian lower order staged a remarkable fightback to seize momentum.
The innings was a tale of two halves. After a rain delay of over an hour, Sri Lankan spinner Inoka Ranaweera (4/46) ripped through the Indian middle order, claiming three wickets in a single over to send Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, and captain Harmanpreet Kaur back to the pavilion. What followed was a calamitous collapse, as India lost four wickets for a mere four runs, slumping from a stable 120/2 to a precarious 124/6.
Just when it seemed India would struggle to reach 200, Deepti Sharma (53) and Amanjot Kaur combined for a match-saving 103-run partnership for the seventh wicket. They weathered the storm and began to counter-attack, punishing a sloppy Sri Lankan fielding effort. Amanjot, in particular, lived a charmed life, being dropped on multiple occasions, and made the opposition pay dearly for their mistakes.
After the partnership was broken, Sneh Rana walked in and completely turned the game on its head with a fiery unbeaten knock of 28 from just 15 balls. Smashing two sixes and two fours, Rana propelled India’s score in the death overs. An explosive final two overs yielded 34 runs, lifting India to a formidable total that seemed impossible just an hour earlier.
For Sri Lanka, Inoka Ranaweera was the standout bowler, but her brilliant spell was undone by the team’s poor fielding and lack of discipline in the final overs. They will now have to chase a revised DLS target of 271 in 47 overs to win their opening fixture.
