Captain Chamari Athapaththu was in full flow on Tuesday (May 7) as Sri Lanka hammered Scotland by 68 runs in the final to win the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier.
After being asked to bat first, Sri Lanka were put under pressure immediately as Vishmi Gunaratne fell cheaply to Priyanaz Chatterji in just the third over of the game.
Sri Lanka women lost two more wickets and were reduced to 55/3 in 8.4 overs before Chamari alongside Nilkashi de Silva gave them an injection of stability.
The pair stitched a much-needed 106-run stand together and turned the tides in Sri Lanka's favour.
Chamari displayed caution early on as Sri Lanka lost wickets but changed gears swiftly later to put the team in the driver's seat.
The Sri Lankan skipper smashed 13 fours and four maximums to stamp her authority on the game. She batted at a strike rate of 161.90 and it helped her partner Nilkashi to take her time and carve a run-a-ball innings.
Rachel Slater turned out to be the pick of all the Scotland bowlers. She bagged figures of 2/35 in her four overs.
Chasing 170 to win the tournament, the Scottish players needed to start strongly. However, it just didn't happen as Sri Lanka were all over them in the second half of the game.
Sri Lanka never gave Scotland a sniff and applied relentless pressure with their disciplined bowling attack to keep them limited to 101/7 in 20 overs.
Notably, Sri Lanka and Scotland had booked their tickets for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 before the fixture on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka got the better of UAE whereas Scotland defeated Ireland to cement a place in the multi-nation tournament. While the Chamari Athapaththu-led side is in Group A alongside Australia, India, New Zealand and Pakistan, Scotland are a part of Group B that comprises the hosts Bangladesh, England, South Africa and the West Indies.
