Big picture - India remain favourites
India will look to tighten their grip on the five-match T20I series when they take on Sri Lanka in the second game in Visakhapatnam, having cruised to a comprehensive win in the opener. Dominant with ball and bat but sloppy in the field on Sunday, the hosts once again underlined the gap between the two sides - they have now won eight of their last ten T20Is against Sri Lanka - though they dropped five catches on Sunday.
Sri Lanka, however, will take heart from the fact that in their two wins during that period, captain Chamari Athapaththu played decisive knocks of 61 and 80. Once again, much will depend on her, but the visitors will need more support from their top and middle order. Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama and Hasini Perera all showed brief intent in the first T20I, but struck at under a run a ball. For Sri Lanka to challenge India, at least one of those batters must bat deep and set the platform.
Athapaththu said after the loss that 121 was well below par, and conceded that Sri Lanka played overly defensive cricket. Asked to bat first on a relatively cooler evening before the dew set in, they struggled to generate momentum, with India's bowlers maintaining control through the middle overs and snuffing out any late surge.
India, in contrast, were clinical in the chase, with Jemimah Rodrigues' fluent half-century wrapping up the chase in just 14.4 overs. With conditions set to remain similar before the series moves to Thiruvananthapuram, India will start as favourites again while Sri Lanka search for urgency and execution.
Form guide
India: WLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: LLWLL
In the spotlight - Vaishnavi Sharma and Chamari Athapaththu
Vaishnavi Sharma made her international debut in the opening T20I, in place of fellow left-arm spinner Radha Yadav, who was left out of the XI. One of the three spinners India fielded on Sunday, Vaishnavi was thrown the ball after the powerplay, and almost struck with her third delivery. She should have had a wicket in her next over as well, only for a fumble from N Shree Charani to deny her. While Vaishnavi finished wicketless, her control stood out as she conceded just 16 runs from four overs, and helped India maintain the squeeze through the middle overs. At just 20, India will be keen to track her progress closely as they build towards the T20 World Cup in June next year.
Since 2024, Chamari Athapathu has scored 822 runs in 24 innings, which includes two hundreds and five half-centuries. Her strike rate of 125.11 in this period is the highest among all Sri Lanka batters, underlining both her consistency and her role as the side's primary aggressor in the top order. Against India, a substantial knock from their captain can not only lift Sri Lanka's batting effort but also give them a realistic chance of levelling the series.
Team news
India are unlikely to change their winning combination. That could mean continuing with three seamers and as many spinners in the XI.
India (probable): 1 Shafali Verma, 2 Smriti Mandhana, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Deepti Sharma, 7 Amanjot Kaur, 8 Arundhati Reddy, 9 Kranti Gaud, 10 Vaishnavi Sharma, 11 N Shree Charani
Unlike India, Sri Lanka opted for two seamers and four spin options on Sunday. Though ambidextrous left-arm wristspinner Shashini Gimhani went for 32 runs in her two overs, the visitors might not change their XI just yet.
Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Chamari Athapaththu (capt), 2 Vishmi Gunaratne, 3 Hasini Perera, 4 Harshitha Samarawickrama, 5 Kavisha Dilhari, 6 Nilakshika Silva, 7 Kaushini Nuythyangana (wk), 8 Inoka Ranaweera, 9 Malki Madara, 10 Kawya Kavindi, 11 Shashini Gimhani
Pitch and conditions
The second T20I is expected to be played under similar conditions as the first, with a cooler evening forecast once again. While the surface was initially expected to be flat and high-scoring, it played slightly two-paced in the first game, with the ball gripping at times, as Rodrigues noted after the match. The square offered value for shots. Dew is likely to play a role again in the evening, making chasing preferable.
Stats and trivia
India have lost only five out of 26 completed T20Is against Sri Lanka.
Deepti Sharma, India's highest wicket-taker in T20Is, is two away from 150 wickets in the format. Only Megan Schutt is ahead of Deepti among all bowlers.
Sri Lanka's last T20I win against India in India had come back in 2014. Since then, they've lost all four matches they've played there.
