Sri Lanka Women won the third and deciding one-day international against Pakistan by eight wickets at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota on Tuesday (July 28), taking the ICC Women’s Championship series 2-1.
Chasing 188, Sri Lanka reached 191 for 2 in 37.2 overs with 76 balls to spare.
Vimukthi’s opening burst settles it early
Pakistan, batting first, lost three wickets for 10 runs inside the first two overs. Seamer Chethana Vimukthi removed Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Amin and Ayesha Zafar in the space of five deliveries, with Amin — who had just returned to the top 10 of the ICC ODI batting rankings — falling for a three-ball duck.
Captain Fatima Sana top-scored with 41 and Gull Feroza made 40, while Muneeba Ali (34) and wicketkeeper Najiha Alvi (30) added resistance in the middle order. Pakistan were bowled out for 187 in 40 overs.
Vimukthi finished with 3 for 36. Captain Chamari Athapaththu took 3 for 27 from her six overs, and Kavisha Dilhari claimed 3 for 27, wrapping up the innings by taking the last three wickets.
Samarawickrama and Perera finish unbeaten
Athapaththu set the tone in the chase with 52 from 38 balls, striking seven fours and two sixes before falling with the score on 85. Vishmi Gunaratne had earlier made 12.
Harshitha Samarawickrama then anchored the innings to finish 71 not out from 92 balls with 11 fours, sharing an unbroken third-wicket stand of 106 with Hasini Perera, who was 50 not out from 77 deliveries.
Pakistan had won the opening match of the series by five wickets on July 23. Sri Lanka levelled the series on July 25 with an eight-wicket win built on centuries from Gunaratne (123) and Samarawickrama (100 not out) in a chase of 274.
Rankings gains before the decider
An ICC Women’s ODI rankings update issued earlier on Tuesday, reflecting the first two matches of the series, rewarded several Sri Lankan players, news agency IANS reported.
Gunaratne climbed 16 places to 39th among ODI batters after her century in the second match. Samarawickrama moved up three places to 17th, Nilakshika Silva rose two spots to 24th, and Dilhari improved five positions to 38th.
Athapaththu advanced one place to eighth in the all-rounders’ rankings and gained three positions among ODI bowlers. Dilhari jumped nine places to equal 36th among bowlers and rose two places to 14th in the all-rounders’ list.
For Pakistan, Amin moved up one place to ninth among ODI batters following her century in the second match — her seventh in the format — while opener Feroza climbed 18 places to 54th.