Friday Dec 13, 2024
Friday Dec 13, 2024
Wednesday, 19 January 2022 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Chamari Athapaththu of Sri Lanka (right) hands over her Player of the Match award to Sachini Nisansala
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu led from the front, pummeling 86 runs off 45 balls with 13 fours and two sixes to propel her team to 182 before her bowlers stepped up to bowl Scotland out for 73. Scotland, however, were unfortunate to lose both Lorna Jack and Ellen Watson to injury; the former not batting at all and the latter retiring hurt on 30.
Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat. Athapaththu took advantage of opening bowlers Kathryn Bryce and Rachel Slater missing their lines in the Powerplay as she scored boundaries all around the wicket. Teenage off-spinner Katherine Fraser was then introduced into the attack, trapping opener Vishmi Gunaratne in front for eight.
This, however, did not deter the Sri Lankan skipper who peppered the off side boundary both in front of and behind square, taking seamer Hannah Rainey for 15 runs in her solitary over and leg-spinner Abtaha Maqsood for 13 in her first over. Abtaha would return to snare the wicket of Athapaththu with a smart piece of bowling that saw the batter stumped down the leg side.
However, just as Scotland were edging their way back into the contest, the trio of Harshitha Madhavi, Nilakshi De Silva, and Ama Kanchana combined to score 53 runs in the last five overs to get Sri Lanka up to 182 for four.
In reply, Scotland started well with both Ellen Watson and Sarah Bryce finding the fence on a regular basis. Soon after lifting left-arm Udeshika Prabhodani over long on for six, Sarah Bryce tried to go over the top but could not clear mid-off, getting caught in the circle by Nilakshi De Silva.
Kathryn Bryce found the boundary immediately with an elegant cover drive before left-arm spinner and debutant Sachini Nisansala bowled her with a straighter one. In her next over, Nisansla would shine again, running out Katie McGill with a direct hit off her own bowling.
Two balls later, Ellen Watson limped off the field and Scotland never recovered. They were bowled out for 73 with Watson and Lorna Jack unable to return to the batting crease. Sri Lanka won by 109 runs to put future opponents on notice.
Athapathu won the Player of the Match award but chose instead to dedicate her award to debutant Nisansala for her two wickets and an impressive effort in the field.
“She is a young and exciting player. She has been doing all the hard work in the nets and I’m happy she made her debut. You can expect some big contributions from her in the future,” said Athapaththu.
As captain, she encouraged her bowlers to stick to the basics.
“The best bet is to bowl wicket-to-wicket and always put the ball in the right areas. Obviously, minimise the loose balls and wait for the batter to make a mistake,” she said.
While Scottish skipper Kathryn Bryce agreed that Athapaththu was in red-hot form, she also cited the dropped chance that allowed her to continue her innings.
“We created chances but just didn’t take them and that could have changed the momentum of the bowling innings,” she said.
Kenya is the fifth team participating in the Qualifier to decide one remaining slot at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. Australia, Barbados, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa have already qualified.
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