Skipper Chamari Athapaththu led the Sri Lanka women’s team to victory at the ICC women’s T-20 World Cup qualifier tournament. She scored her second T-20 hundred, showcasing her incredible form and taking her team to the championship title. The final match, played at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi yesterday, saw Sri Lanka beat the Scotland’s women’s team by a whopping 68 runs.
Chamari Athapaththu, the best ICC women’s batter, had a great series leading up to the T-20 World Cup qualifier tournament. In the final match, she once again played an excellent innings as the team’s captain after being asked to bat first. She opened the innings with Vishmi Gunaratne, but Vishmi got out early after scoring 9 runs in 9 balls with 2 fours. Harshitha Samarawickrama also couldn’t stay long and scored just 8 runs off a run-a-ball with a four. Despite this, Chamari Athapaththu, along with Nilakshika Silva, put on an impressive 106-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Chamari Athapaththu completed her second T-20 century in great style, scoring 102 runs before finally getting out in the 20th over, with Rachel Slater taking her wicket. This helped Sri Lanka set a challenging total of 169 for 5 wickets in 20 overs.
Nilakshika Silva played a crucial role in supporting Chamari Athapaththu’s innings and added an unbeaten 26 off a run-a-ball with a four and a six, which helped Sri Lanka set a challenging total of 169 for 5 wickets in 20 overs. Rachel Slater was the most successful Scottish bowler, taking 2 for 35. Scotland’s women’s team were unable to make a good start while chasing the target of 170, and they were struggling at 24 for 4 wickets after the first power play (first six overs). The experienced fast bowler, Udeshika Probodani, took two wickets in the fourth over, which put a lot of pressure on the Scottish team.
Priyanaz Chatterji was the only batter who managed to score well for Scotland’s women’s team, scoring 30 runs off 34 balls with 4 fours and a six. Rachel Slater also played well, scoring an unbeaten 15 off 12 balls with a four, but it was not enough to reach the target, and Scotland managed to get only 101 for 7 wickets in 20 overs. Udeshika Probodani was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 13 in her 4-over spell with a maiden. Inoshi Fernando, Sugandika Kumari, and Kavisha Dilhari shared a wicket each. Skipper Chamari Athapaththu was adjudged the player of the match. Chief scores
Sri Lanka Women’s 169 for 5 wickets in 20 overs Chamari Athapaththu 102, Kavisha Dilhari 15, Nilakshika Silva 26*, Priyanaz Chatterji1/34, Rachel Slater 2/35, Katherine Fraser 1/18, Abtaha Maqsood 1/27
Scotland Women’s 101 for 7 wickets in 20 overs Saskia Horley 10, Priyanaz Chatterji 30,Lorna Jack 12 Rachel Slater 15*, Inoshi Fernando 1/13, Sugandika Kumari 1/17, Udeshika Probodani 3/10, Kavisha Dilhari 1/25.
