Opener Vishmi Gunaratne made an unbeaten 73 in 64 balls as Sri Lanka recorded their third back-to-back win, beating Uganda by 67 runs in their ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifying T20 cricket fixture played at Abu Dhabi yesterday. It was a superb team effort by the Sri Lankan women to defeat Uganda, an inexperienced team. From the start, Sri Lanka played positive cricket to seal this victory and maintain an unbeaten record.
Skipper Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and decided to bat first without hesitation to set a challenging total. The openers, Chamari Athapaththu and the young Vishmi Gunaratne, added a solid platform with 50 runs in 7.4 overs. Athapaththu was the first to be out, scoring 24 in 21 balls with 3 fours and a six, while opponent skipper Janet Mbabazi took this prized wicket. Harshitha Samarawickrama, the deputy skipper who played her first game due to injury, was unfortunately run out after scoring 7 in 5 balls, while Hasini Perera contributed a valuable knock of 30 in 24 balls with 2 fours and a six. The 20-year-old Vishmi Gunaratne played a superb innings of unbeaten 73, guiding Sri Lanka to post a challenging total of 154 for 4 wickets in 20 overs.
Uganda women, chasing a target of 155, were struggling at 59 for 6 wickets after 14.5 overs, with Prosscovia Alako being the only successful batter, scoring 36 in 32 balls with 5 fours and a six. Two other batters, opener Skipper Janet Mbabazi (14) and Sarah Walaza (10), were the only ones to reach double figures. Sri Lanka bowlers Inoka Ranaweera, Shashini Gimhani, and Kavisha Dilhari shared two wickets each, while skipper Chamari Athapaththu and Kawya Kavindi took one wicket each. Vishmi Gunaratne was named Player of the Match for her superb batting display.
Meanwhile, Netherlands beat Zimbabwe by 14 runs in their game yesterday. Sri Lanka will meet the USA in their last league game tomorrow (3) at Tolerance Oval grounds. Sri Lanka already tops Group ‘A’ with 3 wins, obtaining 6 points, while Scotland with 4 points is in second place. Meanwhile, Ireland is on top of Group ‘B’ with the Netherlands in second place. The semi-finals will be held on May 5, and the final will be on May 7.
Dhammika Ratnaweera -CDN
Be the first to comment