At one point, the situation looked as grim as the rain-laden skies hanging over Barsapara Stadium, with the scoreboard reading 124/6. Then came an unanticipated rescue act — a 103-run stand off 99 balls that helped India mount a recovery.

Amanjot Kaur (57) on World Cup debut and returning from injury, picked the perfect occasion to score her first half-century in the format. She looked fiery while bowling in the nets on the eve of the match but there were concerns that India were maybe risking too much by thrusting her immediately into a big game with just one full-time pacer in Kranti Goud (1/41) alongside.

But, on Tuesday, it wasn’t her bowling but her batting that sent out a reminder that India have the rare luxury of an efficient seam-bowling all-rounder. Calm under pressure, she combined with the experienced Deepti Sharma (53) to conjure a lower middle-order recovery and lift India to a safe 269/8 in eight overs. Sneh Rana also provided a late flourish in the end, scoring an unbeaten 28 off 15.

While there was promise from a debutant, still young in her international career, on the other end was the maturity and experience of Deepti. The spin-bowling all-rounder, now playing her third ODI World Cup has been part of the highs and lows the Indian team has gone through in the other two editions.

This time, her learnings were expected to create a more decisive impact and she took it upon herself to do that in the first game itself. A reliable player-of-the-match performance with the bat and a dependable 3/54 spell is probably a sign of what’s to come in the campaign. Experience is bound to pay dividends, after all.

Chasing a revised target of 271, Sri Lankan captain and their go-to saviour Chamari Athapaththu scored a 47-ball 43. Her 52-run partnership with Harshitha Samarawickrama (29) seemed to suggest that they were on course before the Indian bowlers clawed back in.

Inoka’s theatre

Earlier, Pratika Rawal’s laboured 59 off 37 balls looked promising, especially as she stitched a 67-run partnership with Harleen Deol (48). Yet, what looked steady soon turned stagnant as strike rotation dried up and the tempo slipped and Sri Lanka leapt upon their chances.

And then, Inoka Ranaweera (4/46) blew the game open. The 26th over was pure theatre. First ball, Harleen, deceived by flight and dip, spooned a simple catch to cover. Next, a gem that drifted in and straightened – Jemimah Rodrigues stretched forward, only to have the off-stump rattle behind her for nought. Two balls later, India’s captain and anchor-in-chief Harmanpreet Kaur, perished attempting a late cut just two short of a half-century. In the space of six balls, Ranaweera had torn through India’s middle order.

There may have been a record 22,843 spectators in attendance but in that moment, it was the celebratory screams from the Lankans that reverberated in the silence. Four wickets for Ranaweera and India’s top five had been shredded within 26 overs.

The collapse felt familiar, yet few expected it to arrive on the very first day of the World Cup. It helped that Sri Lanka – otherwise spot on with their fielding – dropped Amanjot four times but in global tournaments like these, even the champion sides reiterate the need for luck.

Mandhana, after the conclusion of the three-match ODI series, had quashed the notion of a single match-winner in the team. She asserted that there were multiple, no matter what the numbers indicated. Amanjot, Deepti and Sneh contributing in the way they did cemented that very notion.

From the point of view of India’s campaign in this tournament too, this partnership was pivotal because collapses have often haunted India in global events. Without this fightback, the opener could have set a rather ominous precedent. Instead, it highlighted depth and the ability of other players to respond under duress.