The much-awaited Fairbreak Global Invitational T20 Tournament kick-started on May 4 in Dubai in association with Cricket Hong Kong. The competition which sees six teams and 90 players from across 35 countries started with a bang, thanks to a high-scoring encounter in the opening match of the tournament that was played between Warriors and Falcons.
Riding on twin half-centuries from Georgia Redmayne and Hayley Matthews, Warriors posted a competitive score of 2-177 in 20 overs and in reply Falcons chased down the total with eight balls and as many wickets to spare. Sri Lanka’s captain and Falcons opening batter Chamari Athapaththu led the run chase from the front as she plundered a blistering 107 off just 55 balls, which was also the first century of the competition. The southpaw peppered the boundary rope 18 times, including 13 hits to the fence and five over it. In the process, Athapaththu stitched a match winning 133-run partnership with the Falcons’ skipper and White Ferns’ star batter Suzie Bates (60) in 14 overs to keep the Warriors at bay.
The 32-year old Sri Lankan, who is the leading run-getter for her country in ODIs and T20Is was last seen playing international cricket in January 2022 during the Commonwealth Games Women’s Cricket Competition Qualifiers. She had a great outing in the tournament as she won the player of the series for her valuable contributions with both bat and ball. Athapaththu led Sri Lanka to four wins in as many matches to help the island nation qualify for the Commonwealth Games to be played in Birmingham in July this year. Sri Lanka will be one of the eight teams to participate in the event, which will see cricket being included after a gap of 24 years.
On the ODI front, Athapaththu last featured in October 2019 when Sri Lanka toured Australia for a three-match T20I and a three-match ODI series. Despite not being in much actions compared to her peers, the prolific Sri Lankan batter showed the world that she is a class act and can do wonders on any given day during her delightful century in the opening match of the Fairbreak Global Invitational T20 Tournament.
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What a knock & What a start to the tournament! @58Chamari helped the #Falcons soar to victory with an explosive century!
Watch the full match highlights only on #FanCode 👉 https://t.co/87cTsFkE5w
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.#FBI22 #FairBreakonFanCode @fairbreakglobal pic.twitter.com/rrgEVAz2VI— FanCode (@FanCode) May 5, 2022
It will be interesting to see how many runs and wickets the Sri Lankan captain accounts for in the ongoing competition.
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I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.