Chamari Athapaththu struck an unbeaten century off just 58 deliveries as she led her side to a ruthless nine-wicket victory over Ireland at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Bristol.
Following her side’s five-wicket defeat by West Indies earlier in the week, Athapaththu said she felt like she was a “failure as a captain”.
But on Tuesday, she was anything but that, striking the second hundred of the tournament, her fourth in women’s international T20 cricket and the eighth in the history of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
Athapaththu’s side moved to fourth in the Group B standings following the win
Thanks to her stunning work with the bat, Sri Lanka needed only 15.3 overs to beat a 131 target set by Ireland in the first innings.
It means Sri Lanka have kept their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages alive. Athapaththu’s side moved up to fourth in Group B, level on points with New Zealand in third and two behind England and West Indies, who currently occupy the qualification spots in first and second.
They will play Scotland in their final game of the group stages and will need Ireland to get a result from their final match against West Indies if they are to progress.
Ireland’s Gaby Lewis struck a half-century during her side’s nine-wicket defeat by Sri Lanka
Athapaththu’s sensational knock, in which she struck 17 fours and two sixes, saw her crowned the player of the match.
“Unfortunately, the last game [against West Indies] I got out early,” Athapaththu said. “I’m a little bit worried about that game, but we won today, and that’s the most important thing.
“We needed to improve our net run rate, and I just played my natural game – I always attack. I tried my best to do my best.”
She added: “I want to play our best game against Scotland. Unfortunately, we lost against the West Indies, we are in a little bit of trouble, but we’ll keep smiling and play our best cricket.”
Athapaththu was joined at the crease by Imesha Dulani, who made 20 runs off 27 deliveries before being bowled out by Orla Prendergast. Nilakshika Silva made up the final four runs before Sri Lanka secured victory.
Ireland, meanwhile, remain winless in the tournament at the bottom of the group.
Gaby Lewis’ side lost the toss and were sent in to bowl, but the captain starred with the bat, hitting Ireland’s highest individual score of 59 runs off 50 deliveries, in what was an excellent knock.
On a warm day in Bristol, Lewis kept her composure and showcased her ability to pick shots all around the ground, before she was bowled out by Athapaththu, who beat her with a lovely delivery that clattered into the Irish captain’s middle stumps.
It came after both Amy Hunter and Orla Prendergast were removed inside two overs, with wicketkeeper Kaushani Nuthyangana having a hand in both dismissals. Nuthyangana first removed Hunter with a direct hit from square leg.
Showing her quick reflexes, she then stumped Prendergast off a Sugandika Kumari delivery to leave Ireland floundering at only three runs for a loss of two wickets.
Lewis (right) said the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup has made her side hungry to improve
Rebecca Stokell arrived at the crease but could only manage 13 runs before she was caught by Kavisha Dilhari off a Mithali Ayodhya delivery.
Leah Paul then brought up a score of 20 before she was dismissed by Silva, before Alice Tector (28no) and Louise Little (1no) saw out the remainder of the innings.
“The level has gone up, and it makes you hungrier as a cricketer,” Lewis said after the match.
“After every World Cup, you go back, and you say: ‘We’re not far off!’
“How close we were to beating New Zealand and how we’ve played in patches, it’s about coming together, and that does drive you on to get better.”
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