Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu won the toss for the second match in a row and elected to bowl against India in the fifth and final T20I of the series at Thiruvananthapuram. With India already sealing the series 4–0, the hosts used the dead rubber to test their bench strength while aiming to finish on a high.
Gunalan Kamalini Handed India Debut
India made two changes to the XI that played the fourth T20I. Star batter Smriti Mandhana and pacer Renuka Singh were rested, making way for 17-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Gunalan Kamalini and allrounder Sneh Rana.
Kamalini, one of the brightest young talents in Indian women’s cricket, was part of India’s Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup-winning squad earlier this year. The left-hander impressed in domestic cricket as well, finishing as Tamil Nadu’s leading run-scorer in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy. She scored 297 runs at a strike rate of 110, the sixth-highest tally in the competition, while opening the batting.
India Look to End Series on a High
Speaking at the toss, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said the team was comfortable batting again and wanted to end the dominant series with another strong performance.
Middle-order batter Jemimah Rodrigues, who missed the previous match due to weakness following a mild fever, remains unavailable. Harleen Deol continues to slot in at No. 3 in her absence.
Sri Lanka Ring in Changes
Sri Lanka also made two changes to their playing XI. Left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera and seamer Malki Madara returned to the side after sitting out the fourth T20I. Kawya Kavindi and offspinner Malsha Shehani were left out.
Despite the series loss, Sri Lanka will be eager to avoid a whitewash and put up a stronger performance in the final encounter.
Playing XIs
India:
Shafali Verma, G Kamalini, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Arundhati Reddy, N Shree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma
Sri Lanka:
Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Imesha Dulani, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), Rashmika Sewwandi, Malki Madara, Inoka Ranaweera, Nimasha Meepage
