Rodrigues put up a boundary-hitting exhibition as she whacked 11 fours and a maximum in her counter-attacking 53-ball innings to help India post 150 for six on a wicket where batters struggled due to low bounce.
The Indian bowlers then struck at regular intervals to bowl Sri Lanka out for 109 in 18.2 overs. The Indians were better than their Sri Lankan counterparts in all three departments.
India were not off to the best of starts after being asked to bat. Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (10) was the first to be dismissed, while her fellow opener Shafali Verma (6) batting woes continued as she became spinner Oshadi Ranasinghe’s (3/32) first victim of the day. But Rodrigues, who is coming off a wrist injury, was in control from the beginning, timing the ball to perfection.
Rodrigues raced to her half-century in 38 deliveries and together with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur steered India over the 100-run mark.
Sri Lankan bowlers then staged a comeback in the death overs with a flurry of wickets. While Rodrigues continued to score at a good pace, going past her previous career-best T20I score of 72, her innings soon came to an end off a Chamari Athapauththu slow and low delivery as the Indian was bowled.
Spinners, led by Ranasinghe did the bulk of the work for Sri Lanka. Chasing 151, Sri Lanka were off to a flyer, plundering 13 runs off the first over bowled by pacer Renuka Singh (0/20). But Sri Lanka couldn’t continue the momentum as they lost wickets at regular intervals. With the required run rate increasing, the Sri Lankans wilted under pressure.
