NEWS
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Sri Lanka Women defeated India in the final of the Women’s Asia Cup for the first time, as Chamari Athapaththu’s spirited team chased down 166 with eight wickets in their hand.
In a full-house Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Athapaththu won the toss and sent India to bat first on a tad bit slow track in the first innings. Smriti Mandhana (60 off 47) batted brilliantly to give India a good platform to finish the innings on a high, and after the middle over lull period, Richa Ghosh (30 off 14) and Jemimah Rodrigues (29 off 16) did exactly that.
India’s 165/6 looked like a decent total, but the Sri Lankan batters came with immense intent and capitalised on the many bad balls on offer from the Indian bowlers. While Vishmi Gunaratne was run out due to a misunderstanding on just 1(3), Athapaththu (61 off 43) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (69* off 51) batted exceptionally well to keep up to the run rate and not lose the wickets at the same time.
Kavisha Dilhari (30* off 16) gave them more than ample support. Despite Athapaththu's dismissal in the 12th over, she, along with Samarawickrama, ensured that Sri Lanka’s chase was never in trouble, and the Lankan lionesses grabbed history by the scruff of its neck.
This was Sri Lankan women’s highest-ever chase in WT20Is, and after being runner-ups for five editions of the Women’s Asia Cup before, they have finally managed to get their hands on the trophy.
What was even more special for Sri Lankan cricket was that the historic occasion happened in front of a full house. Dambulla was the 12th man for the home side on the day and was right behind the Lankan team and its undefeated run in the tournament.
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