The Women’s zonal championship ended in a stalemate as organizers were forced to call off the final between Zone B and Zone D due to inclement weather. The rains came down just after Zone D had completed their 50 overs, reaching 171 for the loss of 8 wickets.
Having won the crucial toss, Zone B skipper Shashikala Siriwardene sent in Zone D, no doubt hoping to restrict them to a low score. Zone D began well with national opener Yashoda Mendis getting into her stride early on. However, wickets kept falling as Oshadie Ranasinghe along with Shashikala Siriwardene kept a lid on the scoring rate and Zone D could only manage 171 in their 50 overs. Yashoda Mendis, who came into the final in prime form, top scored with 68 and was ably assisted by Dilani Manodara who made 28.
The teams were unable to take the field at all for the 2nd innings as the incessant rain kept them at bay. The match was therefore called off and the Zone B and Zone D were named joint champions. Zone D would perhaps count themselves unlucky as they were able to defend a total of 176 vs Zone B in the 1st round of the tournament.
Zone D – 171/8 (50) (Yashoda Mendis 68, Dilani Manodara 28, Oshadie Ranasinghe 3/34, Shashikala Siriwardene 2/29)
Zone B – Did Not Bat
Zone B led by Shashikala Siriwardene and Zone D led by Sripali Weerakkody, established their dominance early in the tournament as they trounced the other 2 teams (Zone A & C) comfortably in their encounters. The routes the two teams took to the finals are contrasting as we see that Zone B relied mainly on their batting whereas Zone D blew away opponents with their potent bowling attack. This was reflected in the fact that the wicket takers list was topped by Sripali Weerakkody of Zone D while Prasadini Weerakkody of Zone B topped the run scorers list.
Route to the final
Zone B
Vs Zone C – Won by 9 wickets (Zone C 146 All out – Zone D 147/1)
Vs Zone D – Lost by 83 runs (Zone D 176/8 – Zone B 93 All Out)
Vs Zone A – Won by 9 wickets (Zone A 115 All Out – Zone B 118/1)
Zone D
Vs Zone A – Won by 11 runs (Zone D 92 All Out – Zone A 81 All Out)
Vs Zone B – Won by 83 runs (Zone D 176/8 – Zone B 93 All Out)
Vs Zone C – Won by 6 Wickets according to D/L method (Zone C 92 All Out – Zone D 79/4)
Unfortunately neither Zone A nor Zone C were able to make any real impact on the tournament despite having big named players such as Chamari Athapaththu, Ama Kanchana (Zone A) and Eshani Lokusooriya (Zone C), which made the tournament essentially, a two horse race right from the beginning.
