Sudeepa Athukorala’s 5 wicket haul and Yasoda Mendis’ 36 runs scripted a comfortable win for Air Force SC (A) as they completely destroyed Army SC (A) in the final of the Women’s Cricket Division I T20 tournament, held at the CCC grounds earlier today.
Army SC won the toss and put the batting powerhouse Air Force in to bat. Air Force had depended on their openers Chamari Atapattu and Yasoda Mendis to get them off to good starts in the tournament but this time it was not to be. It was a nervy start from the two Sri Lanka openers as they put on 28 in just over 8 overs. However, at the dismissal of Atapattu, the tournament’s highest run-getter, Dilani Manodara came in and injected some pace into the innings as she, along with Mendis, put on 30 runs at nearly a run a ball.
Wickets fell at regular intervals but Mendis remained at the crease, holding fort. Quick cameos from Sripali Weerakkody and Ama Kanchana helped Air Force scrape through to a below par total of 108/6 in their 20 overs. Mendis was dismissed in the last over of the innings for 36 runs.
It was a good all-round performance for Army SC with the ball as Lakmali Methananda was in the wickets once again, claiming 4/28; the bowling unit did a good job overall.
Coming in to bat, Army SC, who had been the in-form team with the bat throughout the tournament, would have been confident of securing their 2nd title of the season. It was not to be however as the star studded Air Force SC finally lived up to their reputation by bundling them out for just 33 runs, the tournament’s lowest total. As you would expect, none of the batters got to double figures with the highest score of the innings being 8 by Captain Nipuni Hansika.
Rebecca Vandort was dismissed by Chamari Polgampola in the 2nd over of the innings and that set the cat amongst the pigeons as Army SC was undone by the pressure of the big final. Left-arm medium pacer Sudeepa Athukorala picked up 5 wickets for just 9 runs in her 4 over spell while Ama Kanchana chipped in with 2 wickets. The match was done and dusted with just under 10 overs remaining in the Army SC innings.
Air Force (A) 108/6 (20) Yasoda Mendis 36, Dilani Manodara 24, Lakmali Methananda 4/28
Army SC (A) 33 (10.5) Nipuni Hansika 8, Sudeepa Athukorala 5/9, Ama Kanchana 2/9
Result – Air Force SC (A) won by 75 runs
 as they completely destroyed Army SC (A) in the final of the Women’s Cricket Division I T20 tournament, held at the CCC grounds earlier today.){kind=link}