Sri Lanka 80 for 1 (Athapaththu 48*) beat UAE 79 (Oza 18, Ayodhya 3-14, Vimukthi 3-16) by 9 wickets
Sri Lanka ace the circumstances
With circumstances providing a lot for seamers, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu opted to bowl, handing the brand new ball to 19-year-old slinger Ayodhya. She made a direct influence, putting with the fourth ball of the innings, getting one to swerve late into opener Theertha Satish, who performed on to her stumps to depart for a two-ball duck.
Vimukthi, making her T20I debut, then repeatedly discovered motion away, beating each UAE batters’ exterior edges. She continued to check them exterior off in her second over as properly and was rewarded together with her first T20I wicket when a cross-seam supply on off held its line, beating Lavanya Keny for tempo and motion as she performed inside the road. The ball crashed into the highest of off stump, leaving Keny bowled for simply 3 off 11.
UAE’s first boundary got here within the fifth over courtesy captain Esha Oza nevertheless it was their solely respite in a troublesome powerplay as they struggled to 22 for two from the primary six overs.
UAE really feel the stress
Sri Lanka continued to squeeze UAE via the center overs, with the introduction of left-arm spinner Sugandika Kumari including to their troubles. Her second over introduced a wicket, as she dismissed Oza for 18 off 24, tempting the UAE captain right into a unfastened shot with a tossed-up supply simply exterior off.
UAE would have misplaced one other wicket quickly after as Chamudi Praboda almost had Samaira Dharnidharka stumped with a flighted supply on off that drifted in. Dharnidharka was crushed whereas making an attempt to drive, however she simply managed to floor her again foot earlier than the wicketkeeper may whip off the bails.
UAE’s innings by no means actually gathered momentum as they misplaced their fourth wicket for simply 38 runs earlier than Rinitha Rajith supplied a short spark. She struck two boundaries and seemed intent on taking the assault on, whereas Dharnidharka additionally discovered the fence twice earlier than falling to a slower ball from Kavisha Dilhari for 17 off 25.
Vimukthi and Ayodhya returned on the dying to take two wickets every off their respective final overs to bowl UAE out for 79.
Athapaththu does it her manner
Sri Lanka opener Imesha Dulani acquired off the mark with a boundary, setting the tone for the chase and racing via the opening three overs. Athapaththu too chipped in with massive hits because the duo plundered greater than half the runs required inside 5 overs.
Athapaththu additionally hit the primary six of the match, dancing down the monitor to launch Oza over mid-off. The shot additionally took her to 500 runs within the Ladies’s Asia Cup, making her the primary batter to achieve the milestone.
Dulani, nevertheless, was run out in unlucky circumstances as Athapaththu drove a full supply straight again on the bowler, whose tried fielding effort deflected the ball onto the stumps on the non-striker’s finish, catching Dulani in need of her floor. However Athapaththu made certain there have been no additional hiccups, smashing two fours and a six within the subsequent 9 balls to assist Sri Lanka coast to a win.
Sruthi Ravindranath is a sub-editor at Cricinfo
