Athapaththu Admits Batting Struggles as India Take 2-0 Lead with Dominant Win

Visakhapatnam, Dec 2025 : Sri Lanka Women captain Chamari Athapaththu openly acknowledged her team’s batting shortcomings after the visitors suffered their second consecutive defeat against India in the five-match T20I series at the Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium. Despite playing on a surface well-suited for batting, Sri Lanka once again failed to post a competitive total, allowing India to cruise to a seven-wicket victory with 49 balls to spare and take a commanding 2-0 series lead.

India’s bowlers set the tone early after the hosts opted to bowl first. Kranti Gaud continued her impressive run in the series by dismissing opener Vishmi Gunaratne for just one run in the opening over, with the batter caught off the bowler’s own follow-through. Although Arundathi Reddy conceded a few loose deliveries early on, India maintained consistent pressure, preventing Sri Lanka from building momentum.

Sri Lanka managed 39 runs in the Power-play but lost crucial wickets during that phase. Captain Athapaththu was once again the backbone of the innings, scoring 31 off 24 balls with two sixes. However, her dismissal to Sneh Rana—who came into the XI in place of Deepti Sharma, sidelined due to fever—further dented Sri Lanka’s hopes of setting a challenging target.

Reflecting on the loss, Athapaththu admitted that her side failed to make full use of the conditions. She said the team started reasonably well but losing wickets in the Power-play, including her own, proved costly. She also pointed out technical issues, stating that the batters relied too much on horizontal shots instead of playing straight and targeting boundaries, particularly in the middle and death overs. Athapaththu stressed that on such a good batting wicket, a score of at least 150 was required, especially with dew making bowling difficult later in the evening.

Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama attempted to steady the innings with a 44-run partnership, rotating the strike to take Sri Lanka to 66 for 2 at the halfway stage. However, once the field spread, Perera struggled to accelerate and was dismissed for 22 off 28 balls by Shree Charani in the 13th over. Harshitha showed intent but was run out for 33 in the 17th over, triggering another collapse. Sri Lanka eventually limped to 128 for 9 in their 20 overs. Shree Charani (2/23) and Vaishnavi Sharma (2/32) were the standout bowlers for India.

In reply, India’s chase was headlined by an aggressive and composed innings from opener Shafali Verma, who remained unbeaten on 69 off just 34 balls. She shared a brisk 29-run opening stand with Smriti Mandhana, who scored 14 off 11 deliveries. Jemimah Rodrigues added momentum with a quick 26 off 15 balls as India raced to 113 within the first 10 overs. The target was comfortably achieved in 11.5 overs, with Richa Ghosh striking the winning run.

With this emphatic win, India have seized firm control of the series, while Sri Lanka will need significant improvements in their batting approach to mount a comeback in the remaining matches.

Team Maverick.