Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 31 (IANS) India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur praised the effort put in by her teammates and asked them to make it a habit after the hosts whitewashed Sri Lanka 5-0, beating them in the fifth and last T20I by 15 runs in Thiruvananthapuram.
Kaur, who was named Player of the Match for her exceptional 68 off 43 deliveries, expects her team to keep winning all the way to the T20 World Cup title. The clean sweep also marked India Women’s third 5–0 victory in a bilateral T20I series, following similar results against West Indies in 2019 and Bangladesh in 2024.
Earlier in 2024, India won the ODI World Cup, beating South Africa in the final to lift their maiden Trophy.
“Yeah, I mean, 2025 has been really great for us. For all the hard work we have done, this year we have got the credit. Now, it is all about repeating the good habits we’ve been on, keeping winning the way we have done this year,” said Harmanpreet Kaur.
“One thing is that we have played a lot of T20 cricket together. It was about believing in ourselves that we can do that. Everyone was positive when Sir (Amol Muzumdar) spoke about the strike rates, lifting our standards. Everyone was happy, and we wanted to set those standards. Going forward, we want to look at this series and think of what we can do ahead.”
With the team missing key batters, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues, skipper Kaur was at her best, scoring 68 when the team was reeling at 77 for 5, stitching up a 61-run partnership with Amanjot Kaur to guide the team to a respectable total. Her innings was studded with nine boundaries and a maximum.
“As a batter, it’s my responsibility to give strength to that order and contribute. Shifting to T20 from ODIs wasn’t easy, but everyone was excited to play. We fought for this and are happy with how all things came together. We wanted everyone to be available and play in this series,” said Harmanpreet.
With the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 starting from January 9, Kaur now has her eyes on the Women’s T20 World Cup and hopes to repeat the ODI World Cup achievement.
“Next is WPL, which is important for all of us. Hopefully, we play our best cricket and enjoy ourselves over there. Next six months are important, we want to keep working hard and raising the bar for all of us. Hopefully, the way things have worked for us in ODIs, we want the same things working for us in the T20s.”
–IANS
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