Skipper Athapaththu’s heroics gives Sri Lanka first ever win over New Zealand

Chamari Athapaththu celebrates on reaching her century

Result:
At Galle – Sri Lanka Women won by nine wickets
New Zealand Women 170 for 5 in 28 overs (Amelia Kerr 40, Maddy Green 38, Suzie Bares 28, Sophie Devine 19, Georgia Plimmer 23 n.o.)   
Sri Lanka Women 172 for 1 in 27 overs (Vishmi Gunaratne 50, Chamari Athapaththu 108 n.o.) 

By M. Shamil Amit
Chamari Athapaththu’s unbeaten 108 off 83 balls, inclusive of ten boundaries and five sixes, paved the way for Sri Lanka Women to record their first ever win over New Zealand Women, in the first of three ODIs played at the Galle International Stadium yesterday.   
Skipper Athapaththu was supported by Vishmi Gunaratne who showed maturity beyond her years with a half-century, the pair putting together a 159-run opening wicket partnership.   
Gunaratne fell with the winning line in sight, but Athapaththu ensured there would be no further hiccoughs, taking Sri Lanka to victory.   
In a rain shortened match, with each team’s innings reduced to 28 overs, Sri Lanka reached the target with an over to spare.   

Sri Lanka’s opening pair sent the White Fern bowlers on a leather hunt, posting the host’s first 50 runs in 48 balls.   
That was followed by Athapaththu scoring her half-century in 42 deliveries.   
They took Sri Lanka to 100 runs in 101 balls, needing a further 45 deliveries to take the home team to 150.   
The pair added nine more runs before Gunaratne was caught soon after scoring her maiden half-century.   

With Sri Lanka Women needing just 14 runs for victory from there on in just under three overs, skipper Athapaththu laid the finishing touches a six in the fifth ball of the penultimate over.   
Earlier in the day New Zealand taking first lease of the wicket, though losing an early wicket with the score on 17, made steady progress.   
Two valuable partnerships, first of 60 runs for the second wicket between Suzie Bates and Amelia Kerr and the other of 63 runs for the fifth wicket between Maddy Green and Georgia Plimmer enabled them to end their innings with a challenging score of 170 runs which proved to be in vain.