Sri Lanka Women’s captain Chamari Athapaththu played the winning hand in her team’s seven wicket win over India Women in the third T20I played in Dambulla on Monday.

India Women captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who won the toss and chose to bat first, struck up two productive partnerships with Smriti Mandhana, for 41 runs, and Jemimah Rodrigues, 64, but a good bowling display from the home team restricted India to 138 for 5 in 20 overs.

Athapaththu’s innings roared to life when she scored back to back boundaries in the fourth over, and then scored a six off the start of the next over. She struck 14 boundaries in all, with Nilakshi de Silva supporting her in a 77-run partnership for the third wicket.
 
De Silva was run out 30 runs shy of the target, but that couldn’t stop the Sri Lankans, and Athapaththu in particularly, knocking off the runs in quick time, with three overs to spare.

It was Sri Lanka’s first win over India at home, and the first since March 2014, ending a 13-match winless streak over this particular opposition.

India already claimed the series, winning the first two T20Is, and the teams will now move to Pallekele for the ODI series.

At Dambulla – Sri Lanka Women won by seven wickets

• India Women 138 for 5 in 20 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 33, Smriti Mandhana 22, Sabbhineni Meghana 22. Harmanpreet Kaur 39 n.o.)
• Sri Lanka Women 141 for 3 in 17 overs (Nilakshi de Silva 30, Chamari Atapattu 80 n.o.)