By Srian Obeyesekere

Sri Lanka Women’s Skipper Chamri Athapaththu led from the front powered by Player of the Match stuff 55 off 31 balls fired by 8 boundaries and 2 over the top to go with her 1 wicket in routing England Women in the style of 8 wickets in the second T20 International to squaring the 3-match series 1-all at the County Ground, Chelmsford yesterday.

Athapaththu unleashed the characteristically symbolic center piece playmaker gusto she is renowned for in taking Sri Lanka Women to emphatic heights of downsizing the world’s No.2 ranked side in boosting her No.8 team’s status.

Sri Lanka Women finished the job on a heady 110 for 2 with one drop Harshitha Saarawickrama remaining unbeaten on 30 off 35 hitting 3 boundaries and a six having posted 66 for the second wicket with the skipper off 45 balls. At the other end was Vishmi Gunaratne on a run a ball 18 packed with 4 boundaries in that unfinished third-wicket partnership of 26 runs.

England was all at sea collapsing to 48 for 6 off 9.2 overs against a concentrated Lankan attack and shot out for 104 after being put into bat with Charlie Dean top scoring with 34 off 26 with 4 boundaries. Spot on with the ball were Inoshi Priyadharshani, Kavisha Dilhari, Udeshika Prabodhani and Inoka Ranaweera 2/25 backed by Athapaththu’s one wicket in that rounding off.

CHIEF SCORES:

England Women 104 (18 Overs)

(Charlie Dean 34, Heather Knight 14, Issy Wong 13, Maia Boucher 12, Inoshi Priyadharshani 2/16, Kavisha Dilhari 2/17, Udeshika Prabodhani 2/19, Inoka Ranaweera 2/25, Chamari Athapaththu 1/11)

Sri Lanka Women 110/2 (13.2 Overs)

(Chamari Athapaththu 55, Harshitha Samarawickrama n.o. 30, Vishmi Gunaratne n.o. 18, Danielle Ginson 1/9, Alice Capsey 1/14)