Chamari Athapaththu produced her fastest century in ODI cricket to take Sri Lanka Women to their 1st ever bilateral series win against New Zealand as they won the 3rd and final ODI by 8 wickets.
Set a target of 196 to win in 29 overs, Athapaththu looked aggressive from the word go, a six over extra cover off her counterpart Sophie Devine in the 6th over signaling her intentions. What followed was an innings of pure carnage as the left-hander belted 13 fours and 9 sixes on her way to 140 off 80 deliveries. The ton came in 60 deliveries, her fastest in ODIs, taking her to 8 centuries in Women’s ODIs.
Photos – New Zealand Women tour of Sri Lanka 2023 – 3rd ODI
Nilakshi de Silva missed out on another maiden ODI half century, but her 48* gave Athapaththu the support she needed from the other end, the pair putting on 190 for the 3rd wicket, Sri Lanka’s highest for any wicket in Women’s ODIs.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine won the toss for the 3rd consecutive time and once again opted to bat first. They lost Bernadine Bezuidenhout early, but a 46-run partnership between Suzie Bates and Amelia Kerr steadied them in the face of some disciplined bowling and fielding by the hosts.
Kerr’s dismissal brought Devine to the crease and things were looking ominous for Sri Lanka, with New Zealand’s most seasoned campaigners putting on 74 off 88. For the 2nd time in the series, the rain interruption proved to be a huge disadvantage to the visitors as play was stopped with the White Ferns building towards a big score with the prospect of having 50 overs to bat. Unfortunately for them, the showers were heavy and meant that a decision was made to end their innings on 127/2 in 31 overs, a target of 196 being set for the Sri Lankans according to DLS.
Match Replay : LIVE – New Zealand Women Tour of Sri Lanka 2023 – 3rd ODI
Lea Tahuhu struck in the first over of the Sri Lankan chase, dismissing Vishmi Gunaratne with a short one and Harshitha Samarawickrama was dismissed soon after before Athapaththu and de Silva combined for a record-breaking partnership to give Sri Lanka their 1st ever bilateral series win against New Zealand in women’s cricket.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernadine Bezuidenhout | run out (Kavisha Dilhari) | 4 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 26.67 |
| Suzie Bates | not out | 63 | 87 | 3 | 0 | 72.41 |
| Amelia Kerr | b Oshadi Ranasinghe | 19 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 52.78 |
| Sophie Devine | not out | 38 | 48 | 2 | 0 | 79.17 |
| Extras | 3 (b 0 , lb 0 , nb 0, w 3, pen 0) |
| Total | 127/2 (31 Overs, RR: 4.1) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-7 (4.1) Bernadine Bezuidenhout, 2-53 (16.2) Amelia Kerr, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inoshi Priyadarshani | 7 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Udeshika Prabodhani | 7 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 2.57 | |
| Oshadi Ranasinghe | 5 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 4.40 | |
| Inoka Ranaweera | 7 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 4.86 | |
| Kavisha Dilhari | 5 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 5.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamari Athapaththu | not out | 140 | 80 | 13 | 9 | 175.00 |
| Vishmi Gunaratne | c Maddy Green b Lea Tahuhu | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Harshitha Samarawickrama | c Georgia Plimmer b Sophie Devine | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 30.00 |
| Nilakshi de Silva | not out | 48 | 68 | 5 | 0 | 70.59 |
| Extras | 5 (b 0 , lb 0 , nb 0, w 5, pen 0) |
| Total | 196/2 (26.5 Overs, RR: 7.3) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-1 (0.4) Vishmi Gunaratne, 2-6 (3.3) Harshitha Samarawickrama, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lea Tahuhu | 6 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 4.83 | |
| Sophie Devine | 5 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 6.40 | |
| Eden Carson | 5 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 9.20 | |
| Molly Penfold | 3 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 9.67 | |
| Amelia Kerr | 4.5 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 7.56 | |
| Fran Jonas | 3 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 8.67 | |
