Chamari Atapattu, Bangladesh start Commonwealth Games Qualifiers with a bang

Women's CricZone Staff

18 Jan 2022 00:00 IST

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Chamari Atapattu, Bangladesh start Commonwealth Games Qualifiers with a bang — Chamari Atapattu and Bangladesh team © Getty Images/ ICC

Chamari Atapattu played the knock of the day as Sri Lanka managed a 109-run win over Scotland on the opening day of the Commonwealth Games Qualifiers at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday (January 18). Apart from that, Bangladesh achieved an eight-wicket win against Malaysia in the opening game of the day, on the back of some brilliant bowling display.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bowl first. The decision to put Malaysia into bat turned out to be quite good as the hosts failed to even get some momentum in the innings, much to the delight of the bowling side. All the bowlers were in the game quite instantly, with Suraiya Azmin and Rumana Ahmed being the pick of them. The duo picked up two wickets each, giving seven and four runs respectively in their four over spell.

Apart from them, Ritu Moni, Nahida Akter and Salma Khatun also picked up a scalp each. Malaysia had a disappointing batting performance, with the run rate never crossing 2.5. The only notable contribution came from skipper Winifred Duraisingam, 12 runs, and Mas Elysa, 11 runs. No other batter could get into a double digit score. Malaysia ended with 49 for nine in their allotted 20 overs.

Chasing the relatively small score, Bangladesh got off to a good start. Shamima Sultana made 28 runs off 19 balls, hitting four fours and one six along the way. Her partner, Murshida Khatun made 14 runs from 16 deliveries. Nur Natsya provided some joy for the home team, by dismissing both the openers. However, the start given by them ensured that Bangladesh chased down the total in eight overs with eight wickets in hand.

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In the second game of the day, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first. Atapattu was in sublime touch smashing every bowler on the way. Despite losing her opening partner, Vishmi Rajapaksha for just eight, Atapattu managed to keep batting in a dominant style, hitting 13 fours and two sixes during her knock of 86 runs from 45 balls.

She was involved in a 90-run stand off 53 balls, with Hasini Perera who herself made an 18-ball 17. The two players were dismissed on consecutive balls in the 14th over, which briefly allowed Scotland to come back in the match. However, Harshitha Madavi’s 18-ball 23 along with Nilakshi Silva’s unbeaten 16-ball 23 ensured that Sri Lanka had a good enough finish. Ama Kanchana also played a cameo of 11 runs from six balls as they posted 182 for four.

For Scotland, Katherine Fraser, Abtaha Maqsood and Katie McGill picked up a wicket each. Chasing the score, Scotland had got some sort of hope with Ellen Watson starting strongly. Despite losing Sarah Bryce for 11 and Kathryn Bryce for nine, the power play went well with 51 runs coming. However, Watson was retired hurt when she was on 30 and that was followed by a collapse.

From 60 for two, Scotland slipped to 73 for eight, losing wickets in heaps. As Watson was out with an injury and the last player didn’t come to bat, it marked the end of the innings, giving Sri Lanka a 109-run win. Udeshika Prabodhani, Sachini Nisansala and Kanchana picked up two wickets each for Sri Lanka while they also managed to get two run-outs.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh 53/2 in 8 overs (Shamima Sultana 28; Nur Natsya 2/14) beat Malaysia 49/9 in 20 overs (Winifred Duraisingam 12; Rumana Ahmed 2/4, Suraiya Azmin 2/7) by eight wickets.

Sri Lanka 182/4 in 20 overs (Chamari Atapattu 86; Katie McGill 1/4) beat Scotland 73 all out in 12.1 overs (Ellen Watson 30; Sachini Nisansala 2/10) by 109 runs.

Bangladesh Rumana Ahmed Sri Lanka Chamari Atapattu Malaysia Scotland Commonwealth Games Qualifiers, Malaysia 2022 CWG Qualifiers