Seven wickets in 21 balls: Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu scripts history with record-breaking spell | Cricket News

Defending champions Sri Lanka moved to the top of Group B in the Women’s Asia Cup after beating Indonesia by 75 runs in Dubai on Thursday, thanks to captain Chamari Athapaththu’s record seven-wicket haul and Nilakshika Silva’s half-century.Sri Lanka were defending a modest target of 125 on a slow-paced pitch, but Athapaththu turned the match around with one of the best bowling performances in women’s T20 internationals.She came on to bowl in the fourth over and struck with her fourth, seventh and eighth deliveries. Although she missed out on a hat-trick in that over, she completed it later by taking three wickets in three balls across two overs.Athapaththu finished with 7/5 in 21 balls, becoming the first bowler from a Full Member nation to take seven wickets in a women’s T20I. The previous best figures in women’s T20Is belonged to Zimbabwe’s Esther Mbofana, who took 6/11 against Eswatini in 2021.Indonesia were bowled out for 49. Rahmawati Pangestuti scored 10, while Ni Made Putri Suwandewi remained unbeaten on 12. No other Indonesian batter reached double figures.Earlier, Sri Lanka were in trouble at 62/6 before Nilakshika Silva scored 50 off 35 balls to lift them to 124/7.For Indonesia, Ni Luh Dewi was the pick of the bowlers with 3/32.The win took Sri Lanka to the top of Group B in the Women’s Asia Cup.In Group A, India remain on top of the standings, with Pakistan in second place.Meanwhile, India’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana also made history during India’s Group A match against Hong Kong in Dubai. The 30-year-old went past Mithali Raj to become the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket across all formats.