Colombo, Oct 2 : India captain Harmanpreet Kaur has credited openers Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal for taking a lot of pressure off the middle order through their formidable partnerships at the top.

Smriti has been in fine form for India at the top of the order and has formed a great opening partnership with Pratika to be a crucial cog in the Indian batting line-up. Though the duo didn't have a memorable outing in the 59-run win over Sri Lanka in the opening game, they are expected to bounce back in the future matches.

'Since the time Pratika joined the team, we have had big partnerships. I think it helps the batting order that follows, and we can calculate the innings ahead. The duo has taken a lot of pressure off us and made our job easier,' said Harmanpreet to JioStar.

Smriti, India's vice-captain, also lauded Pratika for stepping up to the rigours of international cricket in quick time. 'Pratika and I are very similar. We like to do our routines and don't talk much on the field. There's a lot of calmness in the way we play.'

'Pratika is not a product of the Women's Premier League (WPL) but has come up through the domestic setup. For her to have matched the level of international cricket in just the last 8 months is commendable,' she said.

In their opening game at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati, India were reduced to 124/6, before a resilient 103-run stand between Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur helped them post 269 in their 47 overs, after the clash was cut by three overs due to rain.

In reply, India bowled out Sri Lanka for 211 and get their campaign off to a winning start. India, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, are scheduled to face arch-rivals Pakistan at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.

/IANS