Women's T20 World Cup: India secures an 82-run win, eliminating Sri Lanka

A collapse to a total of 102 against New Zealand and an unconvincing comeback of just 105 against Pakistan had raised some concerns about India's batting line-up, which, while packing plenty of power, had struggled to adapt to sluggish pitches.

But on an improved surface where South Africa had reached 166 just hours earlier, India's intimidating top three finally made their mark.

The elegant left-hander Mandhana had scored scores of 12 and 7 in the first two games and got off to a slow start against Sri Lanka.

But Verma relieved her with positive intent, using her feet effectively for the spinners she was targeting at the ground, and Mandhana soon followed suit, controlling the ball superbly, with four fours and a six in her knock.

The pair fell in successive balls, with Mandhana being denied by Ama Kanchana and a tired-looking Verma gently cutting the ball to cover, but Jemimah Rodrigues and Kaur were unfazed.

Rodrigues was also left at number 13 and while that didn't prove too costly, Kaur made sure she would take advantage of her reprieve after Inoka Ranaweera missed the chance to cover.

Kaur aimed the swing at the spinners and anything that was too high was drilled straight, leaving her little room for error despite her quick hands and elegant footwork.

It was a daunting challenge for a Sri Lanka side whose previous totals were just 85 and 93, and 21 from Dilhari and 20 from Anushka Sanjeewani were the only notable contributions as they left the tournament with a whimper.

At previous World Cups, India have come through the group stages well before collapsing under pressure in the knockout stages, but this was a brutally dominant performance that suggests they could be peaking just in time.