Skipper Chamari Athapaththu leads from the front with her 2nd T20I century to power Sri Lanka to a thumping 68-run victory in the final against Scotland.
The Scotland women’s team led by skipper Kathryn Bryce, secured their historic maiden appearance in the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, with a comprehensive 8-wicket victory against Ireland. They were all set to face the Sri Lankan challenge led by skipper Chamari Athapaththu in the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier in Abu Dhabi.
The stand-in Scotland skipper Sarah Bryce won the toss and opted to field first. The 24-year-old wicket-keeper batter took over the leadership duties in the absence of their regular skipper Kathryn Bryce. After being inserted to bat first, the Sri Lankan openers Vishmi Gunaratne and skipper Chamari Athapaththu got off to a steady start. However, they lost a couple of wickets in quick succession and found themselves at 33/2 in the last over of the powerplay.
Kavisha Dilhari joined skipper Chamari Athapaththu at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 22-run partnership for the 3rd wicket before Abtaha Maqsood picked up the wicket of Kavisha Dilhari to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Scotland. Nilakshika Silva joined skipper Chamari Athapaththu at the crease and the duo stitched a massive 106-run partnership for the 4th wicket before Rachel Slater struck twice in two balls to land a double blow to Sri Lanka in the final over of the innings.
Sri Lanka eventually ended up with a total of 169/5 in their quota of overs. Skipper Chamari Athapaththu smashed her 2nd T20I century (102 off 63 balls), alongside Nilakshika Silva (26 off 26 balls), and Kavisha Dilhari (15 off 13 balls) with the bat were instrumental in taking Sri Lanka close to the 170-run mark. Rachel Slater (4-0-35-2), Katherine Fraser (3-1-18-1), Priyanaz Chatterji (4-0-34-1), and Abtaha Maqsood (3-0-27-1) were the top performers with the ball for Scotland.
Chasing a target of 170, Scotland got off to a poor start, losing their top order inside the powerplay. With Scotland in deep trouble at 23/4 in the 6th over of the run chase, Lorna Jack joined Priyanaz Chatterji at the crease and the duo led a solid recovery with a 40-run partnership for the 5th wicket. Inoshi Priyadharshani Fernando cleaned up Priyanaz Chatterji to provide the 5th breakthrough for Sri Lanka.
Scotland were eventually restricted to 101/7 in their quota of overs, falling short of the target by 68 runs. Priyanaz Chatterji (30 off 34 balls), Rachel Slater (15 off 12 balls), Lorna Jack (12 off 19 balls), and Chloe Abel (11 off 13 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Scotland. Udeshika Prabodhani (4-1-13-3), Inoshi Priyadharshani Fernando (4-0-13-1), and Sugandika Kumari (3-0-17-1) were the top performers with the ball for Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu was awarded the Player of the Match for her sensational match-winning performance (102 off 63 balls) with the bat, notching up her 2nd T20I century. She played a pivotal role in helping her side clinch a thumping 68-run victory in the final. The Scotland skipper Kathryn Bryce was awarded the Player of the Tournament for scoring 177 runs in five innings and was the joint third-highest wicket-taker with the ball alongside Arlene Kelly and Abtaha Maqsood with nine wickets to her name.