Twitter Reactions: Chamari Athapaththu's whirlwind hundred sinks New Zealand in Sri Lanka's Galle romp

New Zealand women’s tour of Sri Lanka began on Tuesday, June 27, as the two teams took on each other in the first ODI of the three-match series. The rain played spoilsport at the start of the game which reduced the match to 28 overs per side. New Zealand captain Sophie Devine won the toss and elected to bat first.

New Zealand openers Suzie Bates and Bernadine Bezuidenhout could not get their team off to a great start as Sugandika Kumari struck the first blow for her side, dismissing Bezuidenhout (13) with just 17 runs on the board. Amelia Kerr walked in at number three and put on a 60-run stand for the second wicket off 66 balls. 

The partnership was broken by Kavisha Dilhari, who dismissed Bates (28 off 35) to give second blow to New Zealand. The visitors further lost their grip on the game as they lost two wickets in quick succession. A well-set Kerr (40 off 51) lost her wicket against Inoka Ranaweera, while captain Devine got run out for 19 (14) to leave her side reeling at 105/4 after 19.4 overs.

However, Maddy Green (38 off 30) and Georgia Plimmer (23* off 25) took their team to a good total of 170/5 at the end of their 28 overs with their 63-run stand. For Sri Lanka, Sugandika Kumari (1/28), Kavisha Dilhari (1/26), and Inoka Ranaweera (1/41) were amongst the wickets.

Chamari Athapaththu led the chase with her splendid hundred

In reply, Sri Lankan openers captain Chamari Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne made a complete mockery of New Zealand’s total. The duo put on a massive 159-run stand in 151 balls to get their team off to a thumping start. New Zealand got their first strike quite late in the innings, with Devine dismissing Gunaratne (50 off 74). 

However, Athapaththu made sure there were no hiccups in the chase and guided her team to victory with her splendid hundred. The Sri Lankan skipper remained unbeaten on 108 off 83 balls, smashing ten fours and five sixes in her innings. As a result, Sri Lanka chased down the target in 27 overs and won the match by nine wickets. 

Twitter was abuzz with reactions on Sri Lanka’s emphatic win.

Here are some of the Tweets: