Sri Lanka Ladies’s crew skipper Chamari Athapaththu has been duly rewarded for her distinctive yr with the bat in ODIs. The Sri Lanka top-order batter displayed among the finest performances with the bat and as captain, notably main the facet to a primary bilateral sequence win over New Zealand. Chamari Athapaththu showcased distinctive expertise and management all through 2023. She has been wonderful as a skipper in addition to a batter for Sri Lanka.
Chamari Athapaththu began her 2023 because the Sri Lankan skipper and clinched a 1-0 win in a rain-affected sequence over Bangladesh. With the primary two matches not producing a outcome attributable to rain, the ultimate recreation changed into a sequence decider. In a 30-over-a-side recreation, the Athapaththu smashed 64 off 60 balls to take Sri Lanka to 186. Her innings included six fours and 4 sixes. She eliminated Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana with the ball to place her facet With the ball.
The very best efficiency for Chamari Athapaththu got here towards New Zealand the place Sri Lanka recorded their first-ever victory towards the White Ferns in a bilateral sequence the place they beat New Zealand 2-1. The Sri Lankan skipper starred in each victories with a few fiery centuries that helped Sri Lanka blow away New Zealand. Her 108* and 140* got here in strain chases and on each events, the opener was unbeaten on the crease guiding her crew to victory.
Chamari Athapaththu Was Phenomenal With The Bat In ODIs In 2023
The importance of Chamari within the crew grew to become much more evident throughout the sequence towards England. Sri Lanka suffered a 2-0 defeat towards England in an away sequence. The defeat was largely as a result of lean patch suffered by the 33-year-old batter. Nonetheless, Athapaththu introduced her A-game within the crunch sequence decider towards New Zealand with a scintillating and unbeaten 140 to take Sri Lanka to a historic victory.
Sri Lanka was given a goal of 196 to chase in 29 overs they usually discovered themselves in a precarious state of affairs early on at 4/2 throughout the first 4 overs. Chamari Athapaththu took an aggressive method to the difficult state of affairs, matching New Zealand’s hearth together with her personal. In a outstanding turnaround, Sri Lanka reached 60 after 10 overs.
With Nilakshika Silva stable at one finish, Chamari Athapaththu raced to her fifty off simply 31 balls. It took her solely 29 extra balls to succeed in her century. She accomplished her century in simply 60 deliveries which is the fourth-fastest in Ladies’s ODI historical past and the quickest by a Sri Lankan Ladies’s cricketer. The pair of Athapaththu and Nilakshika added 190 runs which is the best partnership for Sri Lanka in Ladies’s ODIs.
Chamari Athapaththu’s innings helped Sri Lanka chase the goal with eight wickets and 13 deliveries to spare. The Sri Lankan skipper has been one of many best batters in Ladies’s ODI and he or she has all the time delivered every time the crew required her companies. She created historical past by changing into the first-ever Sri Lanka Ladies’s skipper to win a bilateral sequence towards New Zealand. Chamari Athapaththu is the ICC ODI Ladies’s Cricketer Of The Yr in 2023 and he or she totally deserved the award by amassing 415 runs in eight innings.
