Sri Lanka outplay Bangladesh to take WT20I series 2-1

 Sri Lanka Women’s team that won both the WODI and WT20I series against Bangladesh Women

• Nilakshi, Harshitha play stellar roles in win

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka Women cricketers added another feather to their cap when they defeated Bangladesh by 44 runs to win the third and final WT20I at the SSC grounds yesterday to take the three-match series 2-1.

Wins against foreign opposition have been few and far between for this rapidly developing women’s cricket team and the win was only their third in a bilateral WT20I series spread over a period of 13 years. The previous two wins have also been achieved against Asian countries. In 2014, Sri Lanka beat India in India 2-1 under the captaincy of Shashikala Siriwardene and a year later followed that up with a similar victory (2-1) over Pakistan in the UAE under the leadership of Chamari Athapaththu.

Yesterday the Athapaththu led side outplayed

Bangladesh in all departments to follow their win in the second WT20I on Thursday. The match winners for Sri Lanka were Player of the Match Nilakshi de Silva and Player of the Series Harshitha Samarawickrama who both scored contrasting unbeaten half-centuries and shared in an unbroken partnership of 102 for the fourth wicket that enabled Sri Lanka to run up a challenging total of 158-3 after choosing to bat first.

Faced with the task of scoring at the rate of almost eight runs an over, Bangladesh was never in the hunt at any stage of the game as the Lankan bowlers – seamers and spinners denied their batters the boundaries they so frequently needed to keep pace with the asking rate. Bangladesh simply could not take the pressure exerted on them by the Sri Lankan bowlers and fielders and eventually managed to muster only 114-7.

As she had done in the first two WT20Is, Chamari gave her team a swashbuckling start racing to 32 off 23 balls inclusive of two sixes and three fours before being dismissed. Sri Lanka lost the wickets of Vishmi Gunaratne and Anushka Sanjeewani cheaply which brought Harshitha and Nilakshi together. From 56-3 in the tenth over they carried Sri Lanka to a position of strength with a spirited batting display. 

Stylish Harshitha who has been a model of consistency throughout the series scored a super 51* off 42 balls (6 fours), while Nilakshi who had played second fiddle in the partnership till the 16th over hitting only one four, suddenly broke loose as Sri Lanka scored 53 off the last three overs of which 41 came off her own bat in 14 balls (3 fours, 1 six). She finished on 63* off 39 balls (4 sixes, 4 fours) – her maiden WT20I fifty.    

Sri Lanka in fact completed a double against Bangladesh winning both the three-match WODI series 1-0 (2 no-results) and the three-match WT20I series 2-1. They also swept away all the awards for both series. Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu was named Player of the Series in the WODIs.  

The awards for both series were presented by Sri Lanka Cricket Vice President Dr. Jayantha Dharmadasa and Tournament Committee Chairman Samantha Dodanwela.  

 Player of the Match Nilakshi de Silva

Player of the Series (WT20I) 

Harshitha Samarawickrama

Player of the Series (WODI) Chamari Athapaththu

 Sri Lanka Captain Chamari Athapaththu receiving the WODI Champions trophy (left) and the WT20I Champions trophy from Dr. Jayantha Dharmadasa