• Chamari Athapaththu shined with the ball against West Indies to guide Sri Lanka to victory.

  • Sri Lanka took 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series with this win.

SL-W vs WI-W: Chamari Athapaththu’s best bowling figures guide Sri Lanka to victory
Chamari Athapaththu's best bowling figures guide Sri Lanka to victory

Sri Lanka Women secured a convincing 4-wicket victory over the West Indies Women in the opening T20I of the three-match series. The game was played at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium on Monday, with Sri Lanka electing to field first.

West Indies struggles to score big

Put in to bat first, the West Indies batters failed to get going against a disciplined Sri Lankan bowling attack. Hayley Matthews (30) and Aaliyah Alleyne (26) were the only players to score over 20 runs, as the Windies finished their innings with a modest total of 134/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Chamari Athapaththu (4/29) was the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers, claiming four wickets. Inoshi Fernando (3/28) also chipped in with three wickets.

Sri Lanka reaches the target with ease

Set a reachable target, the Sri Lankan openers struggled early on. However, a crucial partnership between Vishmi Rajapaksha Gunaratne (35) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (35) steadied the chase. Later contributions from Hasini Perera (20) and Nilakshi de Silva (17 not out) ensured Sri Lanka chased down the target with 1.2 overs to spare, losing only 6 wickets in the process.

Also READ: Latest ICC Women’s Rankings

Player of the Match

Chamari Athapaththu’s career-best bowling fifures, which guided Sri Lanka to victory, earned her the Player of the Match award.

With this win, Sri Lanka have taken a 1-0 lead in the T20I leg. The second fixture is scheduled on Wednesday, June 26, at the same venue.

Also READ: Fans celebrate as Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma lead India to a whitewash over South Africa in the Women’s ODI series

This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.

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