India's women's cricket team marked their return to international action with a commanding eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first T20I at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, December 21, 2025. The win, the team's first outing since their historic 50-over World Cup final triumph in November, was orchestrated by a brilliant, unbeaten 69 from Jemimah Rodrigues.
Rodrigues' Offside Exhibition Steals the Show
The defining narrative of the match was the batting clinic put on by Jemimah Rodrigues. On an evening where the entire Sri Lankan batting lineup could only muster nine boundaries, Rodrigues alone struck ten fours in her match-winning knock. Remarkably, nine of those ten fours were hit on the offside, peppering the region between cover and third man with precision. Her innings was a testament to controlled aggression and exquisite placement.
She set the tone early with a perfectly executed late cut off pacer Malki Madara for her first boundary. When asked in the post-match presentation if Sri Lanka should consider packing the offside field, Rodrigues confidently joked, "I will still find the gap." Her dominance was particularly evident against young ambidextrous spinner Shashini Gimhani, whom she targeted for six boundaries, including four in a single over that featured a square cut, a loft over mid-off, a reverse sweep, and another cut behind square.
Bowling Sets Up Comfortable Chase
The foundation for the comfortable chase was laid by a disciplined bowling performance that restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 121 for 6 in their 20 overs. The spinners were instrumental, with Deepti Sharma bowling a crafty maiden in the powerplay. Pacer Kranti Gaud provided the crucial early breakthrough by dismissing the dangerous Chamari Athapaththu.
The match also saw a promising international debut from spinner Vaishnavi Sharma, who bowled with impressive control to return figures of 0 for 16 from her four overs. She was unlucky not to get a wicket due to a dropped catch, an area Harmanpreet Kaur identified as needing improvement.
A Vital Cog in India's T20 Wheel
Batting at her preferred No. 3 position, Rodrigues reaffirmed her status as a pivotal player in India's T20 setup. Her innings was a blend of smart running between the wickets and frequent boundary-hitting, keeping the scoreboard ticking relentlessly. She revealed her simple mindset after the game: to extend her good form and react to the ball without overthinking.
"For me, it is important to understand the conditions. To be honest, it was slightly sticky, not as flat as we thought it would be, but I was just in good touch," Rodrigues said. She also credited the team's video analyst for preparing her to face the "mystery spin" of Shashini Gimhani, allowing her to play to her strengths.
While the catching was rusty, the overall performance was a strong statement from India as they begin a new cycle. The team will look to carry this momentum and clean up the fielding errors ahead of the second T20I in two days' time.
