Chamari Athapaththu statement ton revives SL's semi-final hopes

Chamari Athapaththu was devastated after the defeat to West Indies and stated that she believed she was "a failure as a captain." She made a statement against Ireland a few days later with a blistering hundred to keep Sri Lanka's slim hopes of making the semifinals alive.

With skipper Gaby Lewis scoring a 50-ball 59, Ireland finished with 130 for 5, but the total was far from sufficient. Sri Lanka crossed the finish line in 15.3 overs with nine wickets remaining thanks to Athapaththu's unbeaten 106 off 61 balls, which included 17 fours and two sixes.

With regular boundaries, Athapaththu set the pace for the chase, scoring six runs in the first four overs. Imesha Dulani, who was mostly a spectator at the non-striker's end, got a boundary off Orla Prendergast in the second over of Aimee Maguire's Powerplay as Sri Lanka raced away to 55. Athapaththu reached her first tournament fifty-plus score with a four off Cara Murray, hitting 30 balls to reach the milestone. She then hit a big six over the middle of the wicket in Murray's second over, just after Dulani got a chance to bat. Athapaththu had reached 70 at the end of the 10th over, and Sri Lanka had reached 86 for 0.

The openers added 98 in quick time, with Athapaththu being the chief contributor, before the opening stand ended when Dulani was bowled by Prendergast. But Athapaththu was not going to back down, and she hit two fours and a six to get to 90 off 50, targeting Maguire once more. Following boundaries from Prendergast and Arlene Kelly, the Sri Lankan captain scored a 58-ball century, her fourth T20I triple-figure score. She was right when she hit the winning boundary, and Sri Lanka won the match in just 16 overs.

Ireland, who had been given the opportunity to bat, suffered early setbacks when Amy Hunter was run out without scoring in the first over and Prendergast was stumped by Sugandika Kumari shortly after, departing for a duck as well. Rebecca Stokell struck three boundaries but fell to Mithali Ayodhya as Ireland slipped to 19 for 3 at the start of the fourth over, and they managed only 30 in the Powerplay. Ireland reached 58 for 3 at the halfway point, and skipper Lewis gave the innings some momentum with regular boundaries.

Lewis and Leah Paul made a half-century before Leah Paul was bowled by Nilakshika Silva for 20 off 27 balls and got out. Ireland reached 100 in 16 overs after Lewis scored her second fifty in a row with a four off Kavisha Dilhari and a boundary off Nilakshika. Sri Lanka kept it mostly tight in the death overs, with Athapaththu also accounting for her counterpart, but Alice Tector's handy 28* off 21, which included three fours, helped Ireland finish with 130.