Sri Lankan teen prodigy breaks Chamari Athapaththu's record with century in Belfast

Belfast [Ireland], August 17 (ANI): In the first women's ODI against Ireland in Belfast, Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu was dismissed for a first-ball duck. However, her batting partner, 18-year-old Vishmi Gunaratne, made history by becoming only the second Sri Lankan woman to score a century in a women's ODI.

Gunaratne's maiden century was a remarkable display of skill and determination. She started her innings cautiously but accelerated after hitting a six in the sixth over. She reached her century in just 97 balls, with nine fours and three sixes, completing her hundred in the 31st over before being dismissed for 101 on the next ball.

Prior to Gunaratne's century, Sri Lanka had recorded only nine hundreds in Women's ODIs, all scored by Athapaththu. Gunaratne's aggressive start helped Sri Lanka recover from early setbacks and build a strong total. Sri Lanka and Ireland are competing in a three-ODI series in Belfast. The two teams had previously played a two-game T20I series, which ended 1-1. Athapaththu, who was absent from the T20I series, returned for the ODIs.

Athapaththu recently led Sri Lanka to an Asia Cup victory at home and won the ICC Women's Player of the Month award for July 2024. This marks her third ICC Women's Player of the Month award, making her the joint second-most successful cricketer in this category, tied with West Indies' Hayley Matthews, behind Australia's Ashleigh Gardner, who has won the award four times.

"I am happy and honoured to have been chosen as the ICC Women's Player of the Month for the third time," Athapaththu said, as quoted by the ICC. "It is heartening to see such recognition for my efforts--achieved with the support of my teammates and coaches--being continuously acknowledged by the cricketing world."

She added, "I believe these recognitions will send a positive message to thousands of girls who are already playing cricket in my country and elsewhere, encouraging them that commitment and dedication to the game will one day pay off."

This triumph is yet another significant achievement under Athapaththu's leadership in recent times. Over the last 12 months, Sri Lanka has set several milestones under her captaincy, including their first-ever T20I series wins against England and South Africa.

Sri Lanka also participated in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier 2024, held in Abu Dhabi in April-May 2024, where they won all their matches to qualify for the global mega event in October. However, July was particularly memorable for Athapaththu's contribution to Sri Lanka's historic Women's Asia Cup triumph, according to the ICC.

She excelled with the bat throughout the tournament, leading her team in an undefeated campaign. After a modest 12 runs in Sri Lanka's opening game against Bangladesh, Athapaththu bounced back with a career-best 119* against Malaysia.

An unbeaten 49* against Thailand in the final group game was followed by consecutive match-winning half-centuries against Pakistan (63) and India (61) in the tournament's semi-final and final. Her 304 runs at an impressive strike rate of 146.85 would have been enough to secure the Player of the Tournament award, but the skipper also contributed with the ball, taking three wickets, including one in the final against India. (ANI)