SERIES PREVIEW
Follow Us49.6: A fuller delivery from Deepti Sharma has been flicked towards the deep mid-wicket region for a single, resulting in the Indian team bowing out of the World Cup in the group stages.
As the cameras panned to focus on South Africa's Mignon du Preez and Shabmin Ismail in the middle, there was a sense of agony and disbelief in the Indian camp.
And amidst all the jubilation, in a corner were Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj - two legends silently walking away from the limelight to fathom what exactly transpired in the last half an hour.
With palms covering their face and the emotions well and truly raw, the fans of the Indian sport knew that, in all likelihood, it was the last time the two stalwarts were donning the national colours.
Change of baton
Over three months since the heartbreak, there has been a plethora of changes in the personnel who are set to take on Sri Lanka in a three-match series away from home starting on Friday (July 1).
A couple of hours before the team management announced the squad for this series, fans received a jolt as Mithali Raj bid adieu to the sport after two decades.
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With Harmanpreet Kaur named as Mithali's successor, India are entering into a new era as they build for the 2025 World Cup. The Sri Lanka series will also mark their entry into the ICC Women's Championship without Mithali and Goswami in the squad.
"Well, as we all know, Mithali has done great for women's cricket, and I don't think anyone can fill this place, and we will always miss her in our dressing rooms," said Harmanpreet on the eve of the team's departure ahead to Sri Lanka.
Can S Meghana cement her place in the side?
There ain't any doubt that the Women in Blue would miss the experience of Mithali. However, it also provides an opportunity for the youngsters in the squad to make optimum use of the three matches and stake a claim for a place in the middle order.
With Jemimah Rodrigues not in the squad for the ODIs, all the focus and attention will be on S Meghana, who impressed with her attacking style of play in the series against White Ferns ahead of the World Cup.
In the last couple of years, Mithali batted at number four which are big shoes to fill in for young Meghana. The right-hander made a fifty on her debut in the Women's T20 Challenge, which will give her confidence going into the series.
Harmanpreet is also a good option for the No.4 position. However, the Indian skipper has batted only twice in this position since 2020.
With the inexperience in the batting unit, it would be apt for India's best batter in the recently concluded T20I series to shoulder the responsibility in the middle overs on the sluggish surface at Pallekele.
Onus of Indian spinners
One of the talking points in the three-match T20I series were the slow nature of the pitches and the impact of the spinners on the game. The surfaces in Kandy are set to be similar, and India would rely on Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Poonam Yadav to exploit the conditions.
Gayakwad has been in decent form heading into this series as she finished as India's leading wicket-taker in the World Cup. But the inconsistent performances of Poonam over the last two years will be a concern for the visitors.
Ever since South Africa's tour to India in 2021, which was after a year-long hiatus due to the pandemic, Poonam has scalped eight wickets in 12 innings at a strike rate of 80.3, which is the worst among Indian bowlers with a minimum of 25 overs in that phase.
The leg spinner played only a solitary game in the World Cup and missed out on a place in the playing XI in the T20I series as well. With Sneh Rana missing out, the three matches will be crucial to the fortunes of Poonam in international cricket.
Emergence of Vishmi Gunaratne
While the inexperience of the youngsters and inconsistency of their senior pros are bothersome for India, Sri Lanka are making the noises for all the right reasons.
Just 16 years old, Vishmi Gunaratne has taken the world by storm with her exploits in the T20I series. With an impressive 45 in the second game, the right-handed batter will be one of the players to watch out for in this series.
The duo of Gunaratne and Chamari Athapaththu will be crucial to set the foundation in the batting department for the hosts, who bounced back from back-to-back losses to win the third T20I by seven wickets.
Squads:
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), S Meghna, Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Simran Bahadur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol.
Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (Captain), Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anoushka Sanjeevani, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Sugandika Kumari, Inoka Ranaveeram, Achini Kulsuriya, Harshita Samarawickram, Vishmi Gunaratne, Malasa Shebodhini, Udeshika Kanch. , Rashmi de Silva, Hansima Karunaratne, Kaushani Nuthyangana, Satya Sandipani and Tarika Sevandi.
