- By Vishal Pushkar
- Tue, 30 Dec 2025 07:31 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- Smriti Mandhana rested from 5th INDW vs SLW T20I.
- Harmanpreet Kaur explained Mandhana's absence at the toss.
- G Kamalini debuted for India; Sneh Rana returned to XI.
India Women's National Cricket Team vs Sri Lanka Women's Match Scorecard: Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur lost the toss on Tuesday as Sri Lanka invited the hosts to bat first in the fifth and final T20I here at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Harmanpreet informed about two changes in the XI from the previous match.
Sneh Rana and G Kamalini were drafted back into the side as Renuka Singh Thakur and Smriti Mandhana made way for them.
Why was Mandhana rested?
Mandhana was rested from this fixture despite 'player of the match' from the 4th T20I.
Harmanpreet Kaur at the toss: "Yeah, I mean, we were okay batting also, so yeah, it's an important match, so let's play well and win. Yeah, definitely. As I mentioned, it's an important match for us. How we started this series, that's how we wanted to finish. Hopefully, again, we'll continue the same momentum and give our best. Yes, we have two changes today, Smriti and Renuka are resting. Kamalini is going to debut and Sneh Rana is back."
Sri Lanka also made a couple of changes, bringing back Inoka Ranaweera and Malki Madara for Malsha Shehani and Kawya Kavindi.
Teams:
India: Shafali Verma, G Kamalini, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Arundhati Reddy, N Shree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma.
Sri Lanka:Chamari Athapaththu (c), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Imesha Dulani, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), Rashmika Sewwandi, Malki Madara, Inoka Ranaweera, Nimasha Meepage.
Loss For Smriti Mandhana?
Smriti Mandhana was on the verge of rewriting the record books as the India opener has already amassed 1703 runs across formats this calendar year, the most by any woman in a single year.
If she had batted and scored 62 runs more, Mandhana would have also become the leading run-scorer of 2025 across both men's and women's international cricket, surpassing Shubman Gill's tally of 1764.
