Big picture – Can Sri Lanka challenge India one final time?
Whether they set a total or chase one, Sri Lanka would draw inspiration from Hasini Perera’s start on Sunday, in which she took down Renuka Singh and Arundhati Reddy in the opening overs before Nilakshi Silva finally got some runs in the lower order.
Sri Lanka would also want to cash in on any lives their batters are offered as India have been sloppy this series – putting down five catches in the opener and two in the fourth game – which could help the visitors narrow the gap between the two sides.
India WWWWL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka LLLLL
In the spotlight: Hasini Perera and Shafali Verma
Team news: Has Jemimah Rodrigues recovered?
Rodrigues missed the fourth T20I while recovering from a mild fever and India brought in Harleen Deol for her first game of the series but she didn’t get a chance to bat. Already leading 4-0, India may also want to hand a debut to 17-year-old wicketkeeper-batter G Kamalini, the only player in the squad who hasn’t played this series.
India (possible): 1 Smriti Mandhana, 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues/Harleen Deol, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Richa Ghosh/G Kamalini (wk), 6 Deepti Sharma, 7 Amanjot Kaur, 8 Renuka Singh/Arundhati Reddy, 9 Kranti Gaud, 10 Vaishnavi Sharma, 11 Shree Charani
Sri Lanka have been making changes through the series too, and even though they have used up all their players from the squad of 15, don’t rule out any more changes on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Chamari Athapaththu (capt), 2 Hasini Perera, 3 Harshitha Samarawickrama, 4 Imesha Dulani, 5 Nilakshika Silva, 6 Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), 7 Kavisha Dilhari, 8 Kawya Kavindi/Malki Madara, 9 Inoka Ranaweera, 10 Malsha Snehani, 11 Nimasha Meepage
After a record total of 412 runs in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, the ground could offer more runs on Tuesday. The team winning the toss will be tempted to bowl again, as there was dew on Sunday evening. It’s also expected to be pretty humid with temperatures expected to dip to the early 20s.
