Harmanpreet Kaur overtakes Meg Lanning for most T20I wins as captain

Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur surpassed Meg Lanning to become the captain with the most wins (77) in women's T20Is. The milestone came during India's 8-wicket victory over Sri Lanka, which also sealed the five-match series 3-0 for India.

Harmanpreet Kaur Sets New Captaincy Record

Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur overtook Australian legend Meg Lanning to become the captain with the most wins in women's T20Is. Harmanpreet achieved this milestone during the third T20I between India and Sri Lanka at Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday as India secured an eight-wicket win to win the five-match series 3-0. With this win, Harmanpreet now has 77 wins in 130 matches in T20Is as a captain (48 losses and five no results). Her win percentage is 58.46.

On the other hand, Lanning's 76 victories came in 100 matches, losing just 18, one ending in a tie, and five being no results. Her win percentage is far superior at 76 and has four T20 World Cup crowns as a captain, making her one of the most successful leaders of the shortest format of the game across men's and women's international cricket alike.

India Dominates Sri Lanka in Series Clincher

Coming to the match, India won the toss and put Sri Lanka to bat first. Imesha Dulani (27 in 32 balls, with four boundaries), Hasini Perera (25 in 18 balls, with five fours), and Kavisha Dilhari (20 in 13 balls, with two fours and a six) put the only scores touching/crossing the 20-run mark as they posted 112/7 in 20 overs. Spin all-rounder Deepti Sharma (3/18) became the first Indian across men's and women's cricket to take 150 T20I wickets and also became the highest wicket-taker in the format. Pacer Renuka Singh (4/21) emerged as the pick of the bowlers for India.

Stellar Run-Chase Led by Shafali Verma

In the run-chase, a ballistic Shafali Verma (79* in 42 balls, with 11 fours and three sixes) and skipper Harmanpreet (21 in 18 balls, with two fours) led India to an eight-wicket win in 13.2 overs, with Shafali getting her second successive fifty. In eight T20Is this year, she has made 333 runs in eight matches and innings at an average of 55.50, with a strike rate of over 173, with three half-centuries and a best score of 79*.

Eyes on the T20 World Cup

Having sealed their first-ever ICC Women's World Cup title, Harmanpreet has a chance to lead India to their first T20 World Cup title in women's cricket as well, with the tournament taking place in June-July next year in the UK. India is in a strong Group A alongside Australia, South Africa and Pakistan, with two more qualified teams to be determined in their group. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)