Twitter Reactions: Chamari Athapaththu's blitzkreig helps Sri Lanka clinch series decider against White Ferns

With the series tied 1-1, Sri Lanka Women and New Zealand women locked horns in the third and final ODI on Monday, July 3 at the Galle International Stadium, Galle. After winning the toss, New Zealand captain Sophie Devine elected to bat first. The White Ferns were given an early blow as opener Bernadine Bezuidenhout got run out for 4 (15) with just seven runs on the board. 

Amelia Kerr walked in at number three but struggled in the middle as she scored 19 (36). Her innings ended after she got cleaned up by Oshadi Ranasinghe. With the team in trouble, Captain Devine (38* off 48) and Suzie Bates (63* off 87) once again took the onus upon themselves to bail the side out of trouble and got involved in an unbeaten 74-run stand off 88 balls.

However, the innings was halted as the heavens opened up the gates and rain came to spoil the party. New Zealand couldn’t complete their innings, hence Sri Lanka were set a revised target of 196 in 29 overs.

The hosts got off to a horrible start with their opener Vishmi Gunaratne got dismissed for a three-ball duck in the first over itself. Sri Lanka got their second major blow as Harshitha Samarawickrama (3 off 10) was sent back to the pavilion by Devine leaving the island nation reeling at 6/2 after 3.3 overs.

Seeing her team in trouble, captain Chamari Athapaththu decided to take the attack to New Zealand and put them under pressure. She had the support of Nilakshi de Silva who played second fiddle to her and held one end.

Athapaththu smacks 140* off 80 balls

Athapaththu played a breathtaking innings of 140* off 80 balls smashing 13 fours and nine sixes in her innings. De Silva at the other end scored a brilliant 48* (68) and put on a match-winning stand of 190 off 140 balls with her captain. The duo took Sri Lanka home in 26.5 overs and helped them win the series 2-1.

Meanwhile, Twitter was abuzz with reactions to Sri Lanka’s victory. Here are some of the Tweets: