Sri Lanka complete a 3-0 clean sweep over West Indies as they registered a comfortable win in the third and final Women’s ODI of the three-match series played today (21st June) at Hambantota.
After been put into bat first, Sri Lanka got off to a solid start as their opening pair Chamari Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne put on a 93-run stand for the first wicket before the latter was dismissed after scoring 44 runs.
>>Gunaratna and Dilhari pilot Sri Lanka to series-clinching win<<
Gunaratne was in great form throughout the tournament as she managed to go past 40 in all three games (40, 50, 44). After the fall of Gunaratne’s wicket, Sri Lanka went through a cautious period as they lost 3 wickets for 6 runs to be reduced to 99/3 by the 23rd over.
Athapaththu and Nilakshi de Silva then resurrected the innings, adding 57 runs for the 4th wicket. Athapaththu played a Captain’s knock, scoring her 17th ODI half-century, but missed out on a well-deserved century by a whisker as she fell for 91 runs.
De Silva and Anushka Sanjeewani then changed the game on its head with a brilliant century stand for the fifth wicket. The duo added 117 runs off 93 balls, helping Sri Lanka post a formidable total – 275/6 on the board.
The century stand between Silva and Sanjeewani is Sri Lanka’s second highest partnership for the 5th wicket in Women’s ODIs. De Silva added a vital 63 runs off 78 balls with 8 fours, while Sanjeewani, being the aggressor, smashed 55 runs off 46 balls with 6 fours and a six.
>>Dominant Sri Lanka romp to victory in series opener<<
In reply, the West Indies batters had a horrid time with the bat as they were shot out for just 115 runs. The 22-year old left-arm spinner Sachini Nisansala produced a brilliant spell – 5 for 28, becoming the fourth Sri Lankan bowler to claim a five-fer in Women’s ODIs.
Nisansala won the Player of the Match award for her heroics with the ball in this game, while the opening batter Gunaratne won the player of the series award for her brilliant performance with the bat throughout the tournament. She amassed 134 runs in 3 matches with an average of 44.66.
With the conclusion of the ODI series, the tour will move into the shortest format of the game as the three-match T20I series between the sides set to begin on the 24th June at the same venue.
Brief Scores
Sri Lanka – 275/6 (50) Chamari Athapaththu 91, Nilakshika Silva 63, Anushka Sanjeewani 55, Vishmi Gunaratne 44, Karishma Ramharack 2/46
West Indies – 115 (34.5) Chedean Nation 46, Aaliyah Alleyne 27, Sachini Nisansala 5/28, Oshadi Ranasinghe 2/14
Result – Sri Lanka won by 160 runs
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