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Sri Lanka Women’s National Cricket Team was up against the Pakistan Women’s National Cricket Team in a three-match T20I series. In the first match for the Sri Lanka Women’s side, Imesha Dulani became only the second Sri Lankan after Chamari Athapaththu to score a hundred in women's T20Is. She achieved the milestone on Friday afternoon at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.
Chamari Athapaththu’s side won the match by 6 wickets while chasing a target of 177 runs in the first game. They take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, and the home side won the game with one over to spare, which showcased the domination of Imesha Dulani, who herself was unbeaten till the end of the innings.
Imesha Dulani achieves a new milestone
In women's T20Is, hundreds are a rare milestone, and in a fighting total, Imesha Dulani showcased her batting prowess in the match and played a knock of 101* runs off 64 deliveries. She smacked 17 fours and one six in her brilliant innings and, more importantly, finished the match for her side. This will surely give her some confidence in the next match.
Imesha Dulani, after chasing down the total, also earned the side their highest successful chase in this format. Her previous highest score was 55 runs, which came against Bangladesh earlier this year. Dulani previously scored two fifties before scoring this century on Friday afternoon.
Sri Lanka create history on Friday
Previously, they had chased down the target of 167 runs against the India Women’s National Cricket Team at this very ground back in 2024. They have successfully chased down 150 or more on five occasions in Women's T20Is, while they have fallen short five times when chasing targets in excess of 150.
Chamari Athapaththu’s side had a poor T20 World Cup as they failed to qualify for the semi-finals, even though they won three games and lost two; they were out on the NRR basis, with the West Indies side having a better NRR than them. This was heartbreaking for the side as they lost the key game against the Windies.
Muneeba Ali's captaincy had a poor start
Coming into the match, Pakistan were asked to bat first, and they had a good start, scoring 66 runs for the first wicket with Muneeba Ali and Shawaal Zulfiqar scoring runs. Muneeba Ali, who is currently leading the side, scored 42 runs before being dismissed in a run-out. She smacked 9 fours in the innings.
Shawaal Zulfiqar scored a brilliant fifty, playing a knock of 63 off 41 balls, smacking 10 fours and one six. She was the leading run scorer for the side. Apart from that, Eman Naseer and other batters had some contributions which helped them to post 176/7 in their 20 overs.
While chasing, Imesha Dulani and Chamari Athapaththu had a good start as they scored 78 runs for the first wicket, with the latter being dismissed for 39 runs. Later, some small partnerships between Dulani and other cricketers helped them seal the game with one to spare.
