Sri Lanka defeated the USA in the fourth match of this exciting ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup. The USA won the toss and elected to bat first. Posting a modest 96/9 in their stipulated 20-overs quota, the USA had a rather forgettable outing with the bat.
Losing Laasya Mullapudi for 3 owing to an lbw by Dewmi Vihanga, the very next over, Gunaratne affected a run out of Disha Dhingra for 18. Snigdha Paul and Isani Vaghela were consequently dismissed for single digits which meant the USA was finding it difficult to ward off the Sri Lankan bowling. Anika Kolan’s dismissal brought in skipper Geetika Kodali who was singlehandedly trying to rebuild the batting but the fall of wickets constantly around her and Ritu Singh’s 22 meant the USA ended on a lacklustre 96. Dewmi Vihanga was spectacular with her figures of 3/11 as Vidushika Perera also chipped in with 2 wickets while Rashmi Nethranjali, Vihara Swwandi and Dulanga Dissanayake’s solitary wickets also helped contain the USA batters.
Sri Lanka too did not have the finest outings with the bat although they chased down the total. Losing Nethmi Senarathna in the 2nd over was not ideal but Sumuda Nisansala and the skipper Vishmi Gunaratne partnered up to keep the runs board ticking. With Sumudu Nisansala and Dewmi Vihanga getting dismissed, Vishmi Gunaratne with her calm and composed 34 off 40 with Manudi Nanayakkara’s 32 off 31 sealed the deal for Sri Lanka rendering the USA attack spineless. Bhumika Bhadriraju with her two wickets was the pick of the bowlers for the USA with her 2 wickets.
Brief Scores: USA -96/9 in 20 overs (R Singh 22, D Dhingra 18; D Vihanga 3/11, V Perera 2/15) lost to SL- 100/3 in 19 overs (V Gunaratne 34, M Nanayakkara 32; B Bhadriraju 2/17) by seven wickets with 6 balls remaining
Match 4: Sri Lanka U19 won by 7 wickets
🇱🇰Sri Lanka: 100-3 (19)
Vishmi Gunaratne: 34 (40)
Manudi Nanayakkara: 32 (31)
Bhumika Bhadriraju 2-17🇺🇸USA U19: 96-9 (20)
Ritu Singh: 20 (23)
Disha Dhingra: 18 (26)
Dewmi Vihanga 3-11#CricketTwitter #U19T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/4g0QaeFQys— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 14, 2023
I am a first year postgraduate student pursuing a MA in Media and Communication Studies at Christ University, Bengaluru. I am a podcaster, blogger and an avid cricket fan. When not glued to cricket matches, you can find me submerged in books and thinking about cricket all the time.