Birthday special: Chamari Athapaththu – Her 3 best knocks in international cricket

Sri Lanka’s women’s team captain Chamari Athapaththu turns 32 on Wednesday (February 9) and wishes are pouring in for her from different quarters. The batting all-rounder has been a vital cog of the national team and her numbers at the highest level are nothing but phenomenal. The top-order batter is known to play marathon knocks alongside contributing with her handy off-spin bowling.

Making her international debut in June 2009, Athapaththu didn’t really take long in cementing her place in the team. Her three-dimensional abilities took the Lankan team to numerous memorable wins in the last decade. Athapaththu even embraced the leadership challenge and did a fine job in the role. At 32, the southpaw still has a long way to go and it would be interesting to see where she finishes.

Meanwhile, let’s look at three best knocks of Chamari Athapaththu:

178 vs Australia in 2017

Athapaththu was at her best when Sri Lanka met Australia in the 2017 World Cup. Batting first in Bristol, Sri Lanka suffered a horrendous batting collapse as wickets fell in a cluster. However, Athapaththu stood as a lone warrior and took Aussie bowlers for cleaners. Sri Lanka eventually posted 257/9 and 178 of those runs belonged to Athapaththu. Her efforts, however, went in vain as the Aussies won by eight wickets.

115 vs India in 2018

Another Chamari Athapaththu special was on display when India met Sri Lanka in the 2018 Katunayake ODI. Chasing 254 for victory, Sri Lanka got off to a brilliant start with Athapaththu and Hasini Perera adding 101 runs for the first wicket. However, a shocking batting collapse brought India right back in the hunt. Athapaththu stood strong and scored a well-paced 115. Sri Lanka eventually won the contest by three wickets.

113 vs Australia in 2019

 Athapaththu certainly has some liking towards Australian bowlers. During the Sydney T20I in 2019, the southpaw put up a brilliant show in another losing affair. The visitors were asked to chase a mammoth 218 at SCG. While none of the other Sri Lankan batters could touch the 20-run mark, skipper Athapaththu slammed 113 off just 66 deliveries. The Aussies, however, clinched the contest by 41 runs.