Sri Lanka Women registered their first ever bilateral series win against South Africa Women as they won the third and final T20I by 4 wickets.
Having won the toss, Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu opted to bowl first at Buffalo Park in East London, South Africa.
The hosts managed to post a decent total on the board – 155/6 courtesy of brilliant knocks from their skipper Laura Wolvaardt (56) and Nadine de Klerk (44).
The left-arm spinner Sugandika Kumari was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors as she grabbed 3 wickets for 24 runs.
Sri Lanka got off to a shaky start in the run-chase losing the opening batter Vishmi Gunaratne for just 1 run in the second over of the innings. However, Athapaththu and No. 3 batter Harshitha Samarawickrama then built a record-breaking partnership to set the tone for a historic run-chase.
- Wolvaardt’s maiden T20I century guides South Africa to thumping win
- Gunaratne, Dilhari help Sri Lanka trump South Africa in second T20I
The duo added 97 runs for the second wicket which goes into the record books as Sri Lanka’s highest partnership for the second wicket in Women’s T20Is.
Athapaththu top scored for the visitors with a blistering knock of 73 runs off 46 balls with 7 fours and 5 sixes at a strike rate of 158.69. When Athapaththu went all guns blazing at South African bowlers in one end, Samarawickrama made sure she holds the innings together with a fine half-century at the other end.
After the dismissal of Athapaththu, there were some anxious moments in Sri Lankan camp as they continued to wickets in quick succession but Samarawickrama held her nerves to put Sri Lanka over the line at the end.
Sri Lanka will take on South Africa XI in a warmup game on the 6th April at the same venue before battling against the hosts in the three-match ODI series from 9th to 17th April.
Brief Scores
South Africa – 155/6 (20) Laura Wolvaardt 56, Nadine de Klerk 44, Anneke Bosch 27, Sugandika Kumari 3/24
Sri Lanka – 156/6 (19.1) Chamari Athapaththu 73, Harshitha Samarawickrama 54*, Nadine de Klerk 2/25
Result – Sri Lanka won by 4 wickets
