Visakhapatnam, Dec 23 (IANS) India captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and elected to bowl first against Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the five-match bilateral series at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam, on Tuesday.

India made one change to the playing XI from the first match, with Sneh Rana coming for the World No. 1-ranked ODI bowler in ICC Rankings, Deepti Sharma, who is unwell and has a fever. Sri Lanka have opted to go in with the same playing XI that did duty in the first match of the series.

Although she has won the toss for the second consecutive game, Harmanpreet Kaur said it was a new experience for her, as she is not accustomed to winning the toss, but is enjoying it. “Deepti is not well, Sneh Rana returns. We played well, nothing changes, same approach,” said the Indian skipper.

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu said she is confident about her team. “We’re going with the same XI, I’m confident about my team. Gotta play confidently, that’s the most important thing. Last game, we played behind the wicket. We have to play straight to our strength,” he added.

The ODI World Cup-winner India lead the five-match bilateral series 1-0 after winning the opening T20I at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. The Indian bowlers delivered a superb performance to restrict Sri Lanka to 121/8. The hosts then chased down the paltry target for the loss of two wickets with Jemimah Rodrigues scoring an unbeaten 69.

Playing XIs:

India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Vaishnavi Sharma, N Shree Charani

Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Nilakshika Silva, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), Kavisha Dilhari, Malki Madara, Inoka Ranaweera, Kawya Kavindi, Shashini Gimhani

–IANS

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