Twitter Reactions: Chamari Athapaththu's belligerence seals Sri Lanka's historic victory against White Ferns

It was the Chamari Athapaththu show once again as the Sri Lankan skipper blew away the visitors after a scintillating batting display.

By Chaitanya Prakash

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3 Min Read

Harshitha Samarawickrama and Chamari Athapaththu.
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Harshitha Samarawickrama and Chamari Athapaththu. (Photo Source: Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images)

Sri Lanka Women completed a resounding ten-wicket victory in the T20I series final against New Zealand to register their first victory against the White Ferns in the shortest format of the game. It was the Chamari Athapaththu show once again as the Sri Lankan skipper blew away the visitors after a scintillating batting display. 

With the series already lost, Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu came out all guns blazing. The batting phenomenon, who was at the heart of her side's ODI series victory, looked in an ominous mood from the get-go. While Athapaththu went berserk in the powerplay, her opening partner Harshitha Samarawickrama rotated the strike valiantly.

Sophie Devine's side looked clueless against the class and panache of the Sri Lankan skipper as she compiled a 25-ball half-century. New Zealand did pull things back a wee bit after the powerplay, but they found it hard to get past the Sri Lankan openers.

Athapaththu's exceptional power-hitting exploits made a mockery of the chase, and her batting partner smashed three boundaries in four deliveries to seal Sri Lanka's victory in the 15th over without losing a wicket. Not only it was Sri Lanka's maiden over New Zealand in T20Is it was also their first ten-wicket victory at the top level.

Inoka Ranaweera's spin bowling mastery keeps the visitors to a par total

Sri Lanka, playing for pride after surrendering in the first two matches of the T20I series, put the visitors into bat after skipper Chamari Athapaththu won the toss. Although the visitors did not lose any wickets in the powerplay, Sri Lankan bowlers kept the scoring rate in check during the field restrictions.

Veteran Sri Lankan spinner Inoka Ranaweera drew first blood for the home side just after the conclusion of the powerplay, dismissing Isabella Gaze. Star all-rounders Amelia Kerr and Suzie Bates departed in successive overs to ring alarm bells for the visiting side. However, skipper Sophie Devine waged a lone battle, smashing 46 off just 25 deliveries to take New Zealand to a competitive score of 140 runs in their 20 overs.

Devine breached the 3000 run mark in T20Is during her innings, becoming only the fifth batter to reach the landmark. The New Zealand skipper also scaled a remarkable feat during her stay at the crease as she became the batter with the most sixes in women's T20Is, overtaking Deandra Dottin's 105 sixes.

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Sri Lanka WomenNew Zealand WomenSophie DevineChamari Athapaththu