Captain Chamari Athapaththu’s unbeaten 80 off 48 singlehandedly ensured Sri Lanka defeat India by seven wickets in the third and final Twenty20 International at Dambulla. With this victory, Sri Lanka defeated India in a T20I at home for the first time.
Sri Lanka’s victory in the final T20I also helped them avoid a clean sweep by the visitors, who had previously outclassed the home team by 34 runs in the first T20I and then followed it up with a commanding five-wicket victory in the second game to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Having won the toss and opting to bat, India were provided starts from Smriti Mandhana (22) and Sabbhineni Meghana (22) but failed to capitalise on them. Sri Lanka’s bowling attack, led by Oshadi Ranasinghe who picked 1/13, were excellent for the most part of the innings.
However, Jemimah Rodrigues (33) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (39) added 64 runs for the fourth wicket to steady the ship. Some crucial hits from Harmanpreet and Pooja Vastrakar (13) towards the end also helped take India to a respectable total.
Chasing 139, opener Vishmi Gunaratne (5) was dismissed by Renuka Singh (1/27) early on but India’s bowling plans fell apart as the experienced Athapathu led the charge to take the team through. Although Harshitha Madavi (13) mistimed the ball in the fifth over, Athapaththu combined with Nilakshi de Silva (30) and Kavisha Dilhari to take the team to the finish line. India’s fielding and catching too left a lot to be desired on the day.
Harmanpreet Kaur was the player of the series as India lifted the trophy.
Watch highlights of the SL captain’s innings here:
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