- Chamari Athapaththu achieves career best 7/5
DUBAI: Sri Lanka continued their winning run with a comfortable 75-run victory over Indonesia in their second Women’s Asia Cup fixture played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka made a remarkable recovery from 62-6, working their way to 124-7 largely due to Nilakshika Silva, who struck her third T20I fifty from No. 6. Then, Captain Chamari Athapaththu skittled Indonesia with an astonishing, career-best 7/5, her first five-fer in international cricket, and the best for a Sri Lankan in T20Is. It was also the best figures in the Women’s Asia Cup. She snapped up the last three wickets to hastily end the innings, securing a hat-trick.
Indonesia opted to bowl, and for the first hour, had the upper hand over Sri Lanka, their spinners reducing the defending champions to 36-4 by the eighth over.
But Nilakshika Silva held on to one end, even if it meant a prolonged boundary-less period. None came in a 43-ball stretch, but Sri Lanka managed to crawl up to 68-6. By the 17th over, they had added 21 more runs.
Silva repeatedly shuffled across the stumps to use the shorter side and opened up, using the depth of the crease to punch a couple of fours. A reverse scoop followed by a six off her pads, brought up her fifty off 34 balls (3 fours, 1 six). She fell the next ball, but Sri Lanka had enough to get to 124-7, par for the average first innings total in the event so far.
Indonesia began positively, forcing Sri Lanka to remove any close-in fielders, but the introduction of spin slowed them down. Athapaththu struck first, rattling lefty opener Pangestuti’s stumps. Sugandika targeted the stumps too and sent Dewi back in her second over. Athapaththu then tore through further, picking two in two with her nippy off spin and Wulandari was castled by Kavisha Dilhari, to leave Indonesia reeling at 29-5 after 10.
Only one boundary was scored between the second and 15th overs, as the runs dried up significantly. Then came Athapaththu’s second round of attack, more devastating than the first. She nabbed Ariani, Maypriani and Paramitha to secure the first Women’s T20I hat-trick for Sri Lanka.
Athapaththu, named Player of the Match shared her award with Nilakshika appreciating her valuable contribution with the bat when Sri Lanka were in all sorts of trouble.
Sri Lanka who top Group B with two wins out of two play Bangladesh in their final match on 6 September.
Scores:
Sri Lanka Women 124-7 (20) (Nilakshika Silva 50, Ni Luh Dewi 3/23, Sang Maypriani 2/19) vs. Indonesia Women 49 (18.3) (Ni Madi Putri Suwandewi 12, Chamari Athapaththu 7/5)
