Deepti Sharma has played a crucial role in India's innings during the ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025 opening match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati.
India batted first
and started steadily but faced a stiff challenge as they collapsed to 124/6, struggling under the effective spin bowling of Sri Lanka's Inoka Ranaweera, who took four wickets early. At this critical juncture, Deepti Sharma alongside Amanjot Kaur formed a resilient partnership of 103 runs for the seventh wicket, which revived India's innings.
Deepti has batted with great composure, scoring 53 runs off 53 balls, with 3 fours. Though she found it difficult to accelerate later, her steady, calm approach helped India build a competitive total against the challenging spin-friendly surface. Amanjot Kaur stayed aggressive with a score of 57 off 56 balls. India posted 269 for 8 in their 47 overs after the game was shortened due to rain interruptions.
In the bowling department, Deepti Sharma contributed significantly by picking up 3 wickets, including the important dismissal of Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu for 43 runs, curbing the Lankan chase effectively. Deepti's all-round performance of a half-century and three wickets under pressure has been pivotal in giving India the upper hand in the match as Sri Lanka struggled to keep up with the required run rate during their chase.
Deepti Sharma becomes 2nd Highest Wicket-Taker for India
Deepti Sharma also became India's second leading wicket-taker in Women's ODIs. Deepti achieved this milestone by surpassing the legendary Neetu David during the India vs Sri Lanka game. With her second wicket of that match, dismissing Kavisha Dilhari, Deepti crossed Neetu David's tally of 141 wickets, bringing her own total to 142 wickets in WODIs. She is now second only to Jhulan Goswami, who holds the highest number of wickets for India with 255 wickets in ODIs.
