By Srian Obeyesekere
Sri Lanka Women got off to a champagne start under Australian born head coach Jamie Siddons’ first assignment since taking over ahead of the June T20 World Cup when they whitewashed their Bangladesh counterparts 3-nil in their own backyard after being put into bat in the third and final T20.
The triumph was the ideal kick off to the 2026 T20 World Cup and could not have come any better with Skipper Chamari Athapaththu ideally leading from the front by a 27 ball 41 fired by 5 boundaries and a six in a score of 87 for 6 wickets after being put into bat in a rain reduced 9 over shootout.
The Bangladeshis, who had been badly outplayed in the first two games, did bounce back strongly to giving the Lankans a close run finishing on a game 84 for 6 in th eir 9 overs with Sobhana Mostary top scoring with 21. Bangladesh’s Sultan Khatun finished with 3 wickets for 8 runs. Of course, the day belonged to the Lankan skipper as Athapaththu went on to cap a superb Player of the Match all-round performance claiming 2 wickets for 15. She was well supported Sugandika Kumari who took 2 wickets for 22.
Sri Lanka won the second T20 by 21 scoring 154 as against their opponent’s 133.
Batting first, the Lankan Women posted 154, with Chamari Athapaththu (42) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (49) leading the way. Kavisha Dilhari picked 2 wickets for 15.
Bangladesh will kick off their T20 World Cup campaign against tournament debutants Netherlands on June 14.
Chief scores 3rd T20:
Sri Lanka Women 87/6 9 Overs
Chamari Athapaththu 41, Sultan Khatun 3/8.
Bangladesh Women 84/6 9 Overs
Sibhana Mostary 21, Chamari Athapaththu 2/15, Sugandika Kumari 2/22.
(Courtesy Sri Lanka Cricket)