Skipper Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama step up on the big occasion as the Lankan Lionesses are crowned as the Asian T20 Champions
After a series of exciting matches in the ongoing ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup, it is now time for the ultimate glory. The two best sides of the tournament will battle it out against each other in the grand finale. The Indian women’s team led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will be up against the hosts, Sri Lanka led by skipper Chamari Athapaththu in the final.
Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bat first. India went with the same playing 11 that played in the 1st semi-final against Bangladesh. Sri Lanka on the other hand, made one change as Sachini Nisansala replaced Achini Kulasuriya in the side for the hosts. The Indian openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana got their side off to a good start with a 44-run opening stand, scoring over seven runs an over.
Kavisha Dilhari picked up the wicket of Shafali Verma to provide the first breakthrough for Sri Lanka. Uma Chetry joined Smriti Mandhana at the crease and the duo stitched a 14-run partnership for the 2nd wicket. The Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu struck on the first ball of her spell to pick up the wicket of Uma Chetry to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined Smriti Mandhana at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 29-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. Sachini Nisansala picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Sri Lanka. Jemimah Rodrigues joined Smriti Mandhana at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 41-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side closer to the 130-run mark.
Jemimah Rodrigues was found short of her crease to provide the 4th breakthrough for Sri Lanka. India eventually ended up with a competitive total of 165/6 in their quota of overs. A whirlwind cameo from Richa Ghosh took India past the 160-run mark. Smriti Mandhana (60 off 47 balls), Jemimah Rodrigues (29 off 16 balls), and Richa Ghosh (30 off 14 balls) were the top performers with the bat for India.
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Kavisha Dilhari (4-0-36-2), Chamari Athapaththu (3-0-28-1), and Udeshika Prabodhini (3-0-27-1) were the top performers with the ball for Sri Lanka. Chasing a target of 166, Sri Lanka got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of Vishmi Gunaratne courtesy of a run-out. Harshitha Samarawickrama joined skipper Chamari Athapaththu at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 87-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side close to the 100-run mark.
Deepti Sharma cleaned up the opposition skipper Chamari Athapaththu to provide the much-needed breakthrough for India. She departed after scoring a well-crafted half-century before getting dismissed. It was her 2nd consecutive half-century. Kavisha Dilhari joined Harshitha Samarawickrama at the crease and the duo took their side over the line with a 73-run 3rd-wicket partnership.
Sri Lanka scripted history to clinch their maiden ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup title by defeating the three-time champions India by eight wickets and eight balls to spare. Harshitha Samarawickrama (69 off 51 balls), skipper Chamari Athapaththu (61 off 43 balls), and Kavisha Dilhari (30 off 16 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Sri Lanka. Deepti Sharma (4-0-30-1), Renuka Singh (3-0-23-0), and Pooja Vastrakar (3.4-0-29-0) were the top performers with the ball for India.
Harshitha Samarawickrama was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant match-winning performance (69 off 51 balls) with the bat. She played a crucial role with a calm and composed knock under pressure, especially after the departure of the skipper Chamari Athapaththu at a crucial juncture to take Sri Lanka to their historic first-ever ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup title.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu was awarded the Player of the Tournament for her sensational all-round performance, scoring 304 runs with the bat and picking up 3 wickets with the ball. Her tally of runs included a couple of half-centuries and a century. Both of her half-centuries came in the knockout matches of the tournament.