Sri Lanka Women celebrate their 2-1 WT20I series win against Pakistan
Sri Lanka Cricket Transformation Committee Chairman Eran Wickramaratne presenting the WT20I series trophy to Sri Lanka Captain Chamari Athapaththu
DAMBULLA: Pakistan started the tour with a win in the first WODI at Hambantota and ended it also with a win in the third and final WT20I which they won by four wickets at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium yesterday.
In between, Sri Lanka won two matches to take the WODI series 2-1 and repeat that success by the same margin 2-1 in the WT20I series. What was quite evident in all six wins by both Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the two series was the team that batted first won the contest.
On a slow track Sri Lanka’s batting faulted against Pakistan’s spin attack and managed a paltry 113-6, a target which Pakistan chased down to win with 10 balls to spare.
Ayesha Zafar’s 39 off 31 balls (6 fours) was enough to see Pakistan through and end their tour of Sri Lanka on a winning note. Zafar was unable to last till the end, but by the time she fell – missing a wild heave off Chamari Athapaththu – the game was virtually won. Her match-winning knock brought the equation down to just 9 off 23, and there were no late jitters as Tuba Hassan and Saira Jabeen knocked off the remaining runs.
Unlike the first two games, where the bat had dominated, the difference here was with the ball. Whereas Pakistan’s spinners showed guile and discipline, Sri Lanka’s bowlers erred far more often in their lines and lengths and it was this that allowed Pakistan’s chase to flourish.
The powerplay brought a healthy 44 runs, the same as Sri Lanka’s effort but where Pakistan bettered the hosts was through the middle overs. Sri Lanka lost five wickets in this period, as Pakistan’s spinners throttled the game giving away just 47 runs between the sixth and the 16th over. Spinners Umme-e-Hani, Momina Riasat, Nashra Sandhu, Tuba and Zafar picked up all of the six Sri Lankan wickets to fall.
At one point Sri Lanka were coasting at 72-1 at the start of the 12th. They were well set for a total in the region of 140 which would have been quite competitive given the conditions. Athapaththu (34 off 33) and Sanjana Kavindi (20 off 18) were in the middle of a 35-ball 36-run stand. But in the space of four deliveries both were back in the dugout and Sri Lanka never recovered from those losses.
Over the next eight overs they struggled to maintain the same tempo, and despite losing just three more wickets were only able to muster a further 40 runs to close out the innings; the death overs alone brought just 22 runs. Pakistan to their credit showed much better handling of the pitch particularly Player of the Match Ayesha Zafar. – [ST]
Scores:
Sri Lanka Women 113-6 (20) (Chamari Athapaththu 34, Sanjana Kavindi 20, Momina Riasat 2/18) vs. Pakistan Women 115-6 (18.2) (Shawaal Zulfiqar 21, Ayesha Zafar 39, Chamari Athapaththu 2/20, Kavisha Dilhari 2/24)