The Indian opener has scored 120 runs in four innings this series.
India stalwarts Smriti Mandhana and Renuka Thakur were not included in India’s playing XI for the fifth and final T20I of the series against Sri Lanka. Both the players have been instrumental to India’s chances in the recent past, and with the series already in the kitty, the management would have thought that it was the right decision to rest the two players.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur lost the toss as India were put in to bat first in a similar template to the fourth T20I. That being said, the hosts have handed a debut to Gunalan Kamalini, who was drafted into the squad along with U19 teammate Vaishnavi Sharma. Though Vaishnavi Sharma will take the field in her fifth international game, Kamalini received the cap from the World Cup winning skipper.
Even though the series is already won, the skipper Harmanpreet Kaur spoke about the importance of this clash in order to carry the momentum ahead into the next year for the hosts. 2025 has been an incredible year for the Women in Blue as they were crowned champions in the 50-over setup. However, 2026 will bring a different challenge in completely different conditions, as the team will brace for the Women’s T20 World Cup in June on English soil.
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The left-handed opener is extremely crucial to India’s chances in the upcoming coveted Women’s T20 World Cup in June 2026. To start with, the tournament is going to be played on English soil – a venue that Mandhana has a lot of experience on, along with a few others in the squad. However, this would be a big assignment for the Women in Blue, and the T20 World Cup is something that they would want to get their hands on.
Smriti Mandhana is a vital player to have alongside a player with the stature of Shafali Verma. The latter thrives on aggression and has the ability to throw the bowlers off the hook and take them to the cleaners. However, Mandhana on the other hand can keep a calm head on her shoulders and anchor the innings, so that the other batters bat around her.
In the four matches played so far against Sri Lanka in the series, the opening duo have followed a similar template. Shafali has been the player to take on the attack to the bowlers early on, while Mandhana has been taking her time. It was only in the later stages of the fourth T20I, where Mandhana started joining the party and going big along with her opening partner.
In 157 WT20Is, the left-handed opener has scored more than 4,100 runs and continues to be one of the most reliable names in the Indian squad. In 2025, she became one of the players to register a century in each of the three formats of the game, with a sumptuous knock against England in their own backyard – another reason which would make the Indians believe in her abilities on British soil.
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