Sri Lanka swamp Thailand in low scoring game

Inoshi Priyadharshani receiving her Player of the Match award

• ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier

​Sri Lanka swamped Thailand by 67 runs in the opening match of Group A of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier played at Tolerance Oval Thursday.

In a low scoring game where the batters found it difficult to hit boundaries, Sri Lanka managed to score 122-5 off their 20 overs and bundle Thailand out for 55 in 16.2 overs to get their first points on the board towards making it to the ICC T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka winning the toss and batting first would have been in a worse plight had not the Thailand fielders spilled as many as six catches, four of them off Hasini Perera who went onto score 29 off 32 balls (5 fours).

With wickets falling at regular intervals and the Thailand bowling being disciplined Sri Lanka’s run rate hovered around five an over for most of the innings. They lost half the side for 78 in the 15th over.

But Nilakshi Silva who scored her maiden WODI fifty in the third and final game against South Africa eight days ago, and wicket-keeper Anushka Sanjeewani ensured Sri Lanka got to a decent score which their bowlers could defend. The pair put together an unbroken stand of 44 off 33 balls with Nilakshi ending up scoring 29* off 20 balls (3 fours) and Sanjeewani 13*.

On a slow and sluggish pitch, Thailand women were all at sea against the experienced Lankan bowlers and succumbed to the seam and spin of Udeshika Prabodhani (2/10) and Inoshi Priyadarshani (3/14) with only one batter getting into double figures.

Priyadarshani won the Player of the Match award for her excellent bowling.

Sri Lanka Women Captain Chamari Athapaththu said conditions were not good for batting and it was a bit hard for them to bat on the surface because in the last couple of weeks they were in South Africa playing under different conditions.

“However, our batters did a good job in these tough conditions and the bowling unit bowled very well because we have an experienced line up,” said Athapaththu.

Sri Lanka’s second game in the Qualifier is against Scotland on Saturday at Abu Dhabi.

In the second game played for the day, Ireland beat UAE by six wickets in Group B at Abu Dhabi.

Scores: Sri Lanka Women 122-5 (20) (Hasini Perera 29, Nilakshi Silva 29*)

Thailand Women 55 (16.2) (Nannapat Koncharoenkai 18, Udeshika Prabodhani 2/10, Inoshi Priyadharshani 3/14)