The 35-year-old experienced veteran Chamari Athapaththu scripted history in the recently concluded white-ball series against New Zealand. The Suzie Bates-led White Ferns hosted the Lankan Lionesses for a bilateral series from March 4 to 18, 2025.
The home side clinched the three-match ODI series by a 2-0 margin after the first game of the series was washed out due to rain. The three-match T20I series was eventually shared 1-1 as the 3rd T20I of the series was washed out.
Athapaththu ended the T20I series as the leading run-scorer for her side and the 2nd highest run-scorer of the series with 87 runs in a couple of innings with the bat for her side. She also picked up a couple of wickets in three innings with the ball for her side.
Amidst all the frequent rain breaks and an eventual washout dampening skipper Chamari Athapaththu’s landmark 100th game as the Sri Lankan skipper in the T20I format. She became the first Sri Lankan to lead her country for that duration in the T20I format.
As a skipper, she has an impressive win percentage of 43 in the T20I format. She has made a significant contribution to Sri Lanka’s success in the T20I format, accounting for around 48% (1,646 runs) of her side’s runs in a winning cause.
She has scored her runs at a strike rate of 135.80 and an impressive average of 44.48 in 43 innings in a winning cause. Her tally of runs includes 12 half-centuries and a couple of centuries, with the highest score of 119* (69 balls) against Malaysia on 22nd July 2024 in Dambulla.
As captain with the ball, she has made a significant impact with the ball, contributing 49% of her wickets to a winning cause. As a skipper in a winning cause, she has averaged 13.80 and an economy of 5.07 in 30 innings with the ball for her side in the T20I format.
She had one four-wicket haul as a skipper against the West Indies when she returned with impressive match figures (4-0-29-4) on 24th June 2024, at Hambantota.
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