A splendid all-round display saw India launch their ICC Women’s World Cup campaign on the front foot, brushing aside Sri Lanka by 59 runs in the curtain raiser in Guwahati on Tuesday. Sri Lanka, however, let the initiative slip through butterfingers. Sri Lanka, who missed the previous edition of the World Cup in 2022, never quite looked convincing and their brittle batting remains their Achilles’ heel. The 13th Women’s World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, features the world’s top eight sides with the top four after the league stage set to contest the semi-finals. More than 23,000 fans thronged the stands for the opener, testimony to the growing pull of the women’s game in the subcontinent.