DAMBULLA: Sri Lankan Women’s National Cricket Team captain Chamari Athapaththu led the way with a magnificent unbeaten knock of 80 runs to power his side to seal a consolation seven-wicket victory over India in the third T20I on Monday.
Set to chase 139, the hosts comfortably chased down the total in 17 overs with seven wickets to spare at the back of their captain Athapaththu, who displayed determination with her blistering match-winning knock.
Despite starting the proceedings poorly in the run chase; losing the first wicket at a combined total of six. The side made a timely recovery as Athatpaththu and Harshita Samarawickrama anchored the innings with an important 31-run partnership.
The left-handed batter Samarawickrama could not hold her ground for long and perished in the fifth over after scoring 13.
Athapaththu, on the other hand, stood firm and kept the scoreboard ticking at a rapid pace. She put on an astounding 77-run partnership with Nikashi de Silva, who chipped in with her valiant 30.
The captain then put on an unbeaten 27-run partnership with Kavisha Dilhari and scored the majority of runs amid the stand to steer her side to the victory in 17 overs. The skipper remained unbeaten with her 80 off 48 balls, laced with 14 boundaries and a six.
For New Zealand, Renuka Singh and Radha Yadav remained the only two bowlers to pick a wicket each.
Batting first, the Indian batters had a flop show with the bat as the touring side could only manage to post 138/5 in the allotted 20 overs.
The touring captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues led the way for the side; scoring 39 and 33 respectively but remained a touch too slow as they failed to bolster their side to a defendable total.
The left-handed opener Smriti Mandhana and Sabbhineni Meghana also chipped in with 22 each but conceded a lot of deliveries in the proceedings.
For Sri Lanka, Sugandika Kumari, Ama Kanchana, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Inoka Ranaweera made one scalp each.
Despite a crushing defeat at the hands of the hosts Sri Lanka, India Women’s Cricket Team sealed the series by 2-1 as they secured triumph in the opening two encounters.
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