Chamari Athapaththu, skipper of the Sri Lankan women’s cricket team, has been in exceptional form since the beginning of 2024. Her performances have been a standout feature of the bilateral series against the West Indies and South Africa, with outstanding performances in the T20 World Cup Qualifiers.
Continuing her form to the ongoing Asia Cup 2024, Athapaththu has set the record for the most runs in the history of the Asia Cup, accumulating 243 runs and surpassing former Indian captain Mithali Raj. Her achievements include a century and two half-centuries, with a crucial half-century in the semi-final against Bangladesh that led her team to the final on home soil.
In the 2nd Semi-Final of the Women’s Asia Cup 2024, Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field first. Pakistan started strong, reaching 45/0 in the powerplay and finishing their innings at 140/4, with Muneeba Ali top-scoring with 37 runs off 34 balls. Udeshika Prabodhani and Kavisha Dilhari each took two wickets for Sri Lanka. Despite a challenging start, with Sri Lanka at 35/2 in the powerplay, Athapaththu played a crucial role with a score of 63 runs off 48 balls, leading her team to back-to-back finals winning by 3 wickets against Bangladesh.
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Earlier in the tournament, Sri Lanka’s first victory came against Bangladesh, where Athapaththu claimed a wicket while bowling. Although she struggled with the bat initially, scoring just 12 runs, she made a remarkable comeback in the subsequent match against Malaysia. Athapaththu registered her T20I best of 119 runs off 69 balls, earning the Player of the Match award. In the following game against Thailand, she scored a brisk 49 runs off 35 balls and took a wicket, securing another Player of the Match accolade. These performances were instrumental in securing Sri Lanka’s place in the semi-final against Bangladesh. Her 63-run knock in the semi-final led to her third consecutive Player of the Match award.
Her Player of the match accolades did not just stop at the ongoing Asia Cup 2024, Athapaththu won the Player of the Match award in the 3rd T20I against South Africa on April 3, 2024, for her 73 (46), leading Sri Lanka to a 4-wicket victory and securing the T20I series 2-1.
In the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2024, Athapaththu helped Sri Lanka seal a spot at the 2024 T20 World Cup. She was Player of the Match against the USA in the group stage for her 3/14, securing an 18-run win. In the final against Scotland on May 7, she scored 102 (63) to lead Sri Lanka to a 68-run victory and was named Player of the Match. Athapaththu, 34, was the tournament’s top run-scorer with 226 runs at an average of 45.20.
On June 24, 2024, in the 1st T20I against the West Indies at Hambantota, Athapaththu claimed her best T20I bowling figures of 4/29 and took 2 catches, earning another Player of the Match award.
