NEW DELHI: India captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and chose to bowl against Sri Lanka in the opening Women’s T20I of the five match series on Sunday.

The decision was taken with conditions in mind, as Harmanpreet pointed to the expected dew later in the evening. India are also going in with three pacers, looking to make early use of the surface.

“We want to bowl. Dew will be a factor here,” Harmanpreet said at the toss. “We are playing with three pacers so let’s see how they use these conditions.”

The match also marks a special moment for 20 year old Vaishnavi Sharma. The Gwalior born left handed batter and left arm spinner is making her international debut for India.

Sri Lanka too have a young name to watch, with 17 year old ambidextrous wrist spinner Shashini Gimhani included in the visiting squad.

India are playing their first match since lifting the ODI World Cup in November and Harmanpreet said the focus remains on enjoying the challenge of a new series and format.

“It’s a new series for us and a new format,” she said. “We always talk about playing fearless cricket and that is something we really want to do today.”

Teams

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

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

(With PTI Inputs)