Historic Win for Sri Lanka Women to Lift Their Maiden Asia Cup Trophy

So many times, they have gone so close in the Asia Cup but failed to finish the way they expected! The win of the Sri Lanka women’s cricket team against India on 28^th July 2024 in the Asia Cup final is thus a special one since it’s the first time they conquered this tournament.

The tournament was arranged in such a situation when their male colleagues were not even close to the expectations of their cricket fans. But, the Sri Lanka women’s team, led by Chamari Athapaththu rewarded the excited crowd of Dambulla with the first-ever Asia Cup trophy and brightened their names in the history of Sri Lankan cricket. 

Sri Lanka Women Dominated All the Ways

The Women’s Asia Cup 2024 was arranged with 8 teams and Sri Lanka was in Group B along with Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Thailand. Considering the strength of these teams, Bangladesh was their only threat in the first round since the other two did not have any mention-worthy record whereas the Bangladesh Women’s team won the cup in 2018.

Besides, the rivalry between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka has been an attraction in recent years too and Sri Lanka had to start their tournament with the first match against this Bangladesh team! However, the match was not tough for them as they won it very comfortably at Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium by finishing the game having 17 balls in hand! The next two matches against Malaysia and Thailand were like some practice sessions as there was no close competition and the girls secured consecutive wins dominantly.

But the Semifinal was a real challenge for them as they faced Pakistan, one of the most deserving teams this year. Just before the game started, India defeated Bangladesh in the 1^st Semifinal, and therefore, an “India-Pakistan” final was assumed by many! Batting first, Pakistan scored 140 which is undoubtedly a good total considering the average score in Women’s Cricket as well as the pitch condition.

But the Sri Lankan players didn’t bother to attack from the very beginning even after losing the early wicket of Vishmi Gunaratne. Chamari, the captain scored 63 in 48 balls which helped them to carry it to the end and Anushka Sanjeewani finished the match having just 1 ball in hand! The thrilling win boosted their confidence and amazed the very loud crowd!

Before The Final Match, India Women…

India Women’s team has an outstanding record of winning 7 Asia Cup titles out of 8 where their only loss before this was against Bangladesh in 2018, indicating their brutal domination in this tournament!

On the other hand, Sri Lanka Women have reached the final five times before but didn’t win any! Interestingly, each time they were in the final, India was their opponent and they lost it every time! Thus, this meeting was a comfortable one for India and a real challenge for Sri Lanka.

How Sri Lanka Led the Way

Winning the toss, Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian skipper decided to bat first as the pitch of Dambulla is a batting-friendly one and India has some aggressive batters in the squad. However, Shafali Verma’s slow batting later proved costly as she scored only 16 runs off 19 balls.

Yet, Smriti Madhana, the craze of Indian Women’s cricket didn’t frustrate as she contributed 60 runs in just 47 balls. But no other batter from their side could score big runs except Jemimah’s 29 from 16 balls and her unfortunate runout; yet there were several small contributions that finally set a total of 165 for Sri Lanka to chase.

Sri Lanka Women’s Dominance in the Second Innings

No matter how it looks, the score was not a problem for Sri Lanka since their top order is in lethal form! Though Vishmi’s early run-out was a blow for them, skipper Chamari Athapththu led the team from the front and scored 61 off 43 balls which built the foundation for the team. After her wicket, the Indian bowlers tried their best to fight back in the game but couldn’t. While their plans were not working, several poor fielding displays made it even tougher.

Harshitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari tried to hit almost every ball and didn’t let the Indian bowlers have any chance to put pressure on them. With two Sixes Harshita scored 69 runs in 51 balls and Kavisha scored 30 runs in 16 balls. In the 18.4 over, Kavisha hit Pooja Vastrakar a big Six to finish the match keeping 8 balls in hand!

The Celebration to Color the Memory

The teammates just went crazy after the game; the crowd was cheering relentlessly since all of them had become part of the history! Chamari hugged her teammates with joy and responded to the crowd with a jolly face. During the presentation ceremony, she was also declared the Player of the Tournament for her consistent performance in this Asia Cup. Harshitha became the part as well with the Player of Match trophy.

In her speech, Chamari thanked all the players and coaching staff for continuous support throughout the tournament. She also expressed her happiness in contributing from her side to this important match. In response to a question, she said that she will keep playing for Sri Lanka and expects to continue it until the 2025 ODI World Cup. The crowd was celebrating every word of her, indicating how much popularity she has gained with her brilliance in cricket!

Some Final Thoughts

This historic win is supposed to leave a lasting impact on the cricket journey of the young girls of Sri Lanka as the Sri Lankan Women showed how to create history by keeping focus on the point and holding their nerve till the end. Thus, this first Asia Cup win is not just a beautiful memory for the participating players but also for all the cricket enthusiasts of Sri Lanka who wish for the development of their cricket. Interestingly, the win came when the Sri Lanka men’s cricket team was having a tough time after having a miserable T20 World Cup. Besides, the new captain couldn’t see any success yet against India, the same opponent.

Considering the overall situation of the country, this win is supposed to have an impact beyond just cricket and an occasion for the people to celebrate achieving a long-awaited trophy!