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Indias opener Shafali Verma played an outstanding innings scoring an unbeaten 79 off 42 balls leading India Women to an eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the third T20I of the five-match series. This victory gave India an unbeatable 3-0 lead at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Earlier Renuka Singh Thakur took 4 wickets for 21 runs and Deepti Sharma took 3 for 18 keeping Sri Lanka to 112/7. Shafali then took charge hitting 11 fours and 3 sixes and guided India to victory with 6.4 overs remaining. Even though India lost openers Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues to Kavisha Dilhari Shafali stayed strong and ensured a comfortable win. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur added 21 not out as India won their fourth T20I series in a row against Sri Lanka. Shafali started slowly facing three dot balls in the first over but then attacked the Sri Lankan bowlers with big shots. She hit sixes and fours against Malsha Shehani and Nimesha Madushani and reached her fifty in just 24 balls. Mandhana was out for 1 lbw to Kavisha Dilhari after missing a sweep shot. Jemimah was dismissed shortly after but Shafali continued her aggressive innings finishing the chase with a boundary. Harmanpreet also supported her team with some well-timed shots. In Sri Lanka’s innings they began well but lost wickets regularly. Only Imesha Dulani (27) and Kavisha Dilhari (20) had a useful partnership while a late 19 not out from Kaushini Nuthyangana helped them reach 112 which was not enough. Sri Lanka’s Hasini Perera scored a few boundaries early but captain Chamari Athapaththu was dismissed cheaply. Renuka then took three key wickets leaving Sri Lanka at 45/4. Deepti and Renuka shared seven wickets between them. Deepti became the joint-highest wicket-taker in women’s T20Is with 151 wickets equaling Australia’s Megan Schutt. Renuka also performed brilliantly with a slower ball to dismiss another batter. Brief scores: Sri Lanka: 112/7 in 20 overs (Imesha Dulani 27 Hasini Perera 25; Renuka Singh Thakur 4-21 Deepti Sharma 3-18) India: 115/2 in 13.2 overs (Shafali Verma 79* Harmanpreet Kaur 21*; Kavisha Dilhari 2-18) Result: India won by 8 wickets.