Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama led Sri Lanka’s batting drive to their first Women’s Asia Cup victory.
In an eight-wicket victory over the reigning champions India, Sri Lanka secured their first-ever women’s Asia Cup title here on Sunday because to the explosive fifty-run score of captain Chamari Athapaththu and the steady half-century of Harshitha Samarawickrama. It is the second time that India has lost a final in nine Asia Cup editions (WODI and WT20I) across all formats. In 2018, in Kuala Lumpur, India suffered a defeat in the final match against Bangladesh.
Athapaththu (61b, 43b, 9×4, 2×6) and Samarawickrama (69 not out, 51b, 6×4, 2×6) provided excellent service as Sri Lanka managed to reach 167 for two in 18.4 overs, despite being set a challenging target of 166.
In 33 balls, Athapaththu achieved her fifty, whereas Samarawickrama achieved her mark in 43 balls. Additionally, their choices of shots also differed significantly.
Athapaththu scored runs in practically every area of the field, and her attack on left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar, whom she blasted for two fours and a six in her opening over, was impressive.
On the other hand, Samarawickrama was obviously weaker than her senior in terms of strength, but she made up for it with deft placements, including reverse sweeps off left-arm spinners Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav.
However, she quickened her pace as Sri Lanka entered a somewhat safer area, forcing Yadav to give up a slog-swept six over mid-wicket.The Indians, who had up until that point appeared listless on the field, celebrated when Deepti bowled Athapaththu around her legs with a longer delivery.
