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Athapaththu’s record-equalling ton gives Sri Lanka 144-run win

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Chamari Athapaththu’s T20I best – an unbeaten 119 off 69 balls – formed the heart and soul of Sri Lanka’s crushing win over Malaysia at the Women’s Asia Cup in Dambulla.

There was also a dream outing for 15-year-old ambidextrous wristspinner Shashini Gimhani, who picked up 3 for 9 with her left-arm wristspin to send Malaysia on a tailspin in the powerplay from which they couldn’t recover, making it one-way traffic from start to finish.

Athapaththu starts sedately

Vishmi Gunaratne, the half-centurion in Sri Lanka’s win over Bangladesh, was out for 1 when she tamely chipped a check drive to short cover in the second over. But that hardly had any effect on Athapaththu, who kept putting the loose balls away from time to time. She also found some help from a series of lapses by the Malaysia fielders.

Athapaththu broke the shackles in the sixth over with back-to-back boundaries and raised Sri Lanka’s half-century in the next over. For much of the first half, Athapaththu’s elegance, and not her trademark brutality, took centre stage. With hardly any pace on the ball, she innovated at times to get well outside the line to flick and sweep, allowing Harshitha Samarawickrama some breathing space to find her gears during the course of a 64-run second-wicket stand.

Athapaththu hit back-to-back sixes off her opposite number Winifred Duraisingam in the 11th over to raise her half-century off 35 balls. Even then, there was a sense that Sri Lanka weren’t fully out of the third gear. Athapaththu received a lifeline on 56 when she was put down by Dhanusri Muhunan at backward point in the 12th over. That was the trigger for her to go into overdrive.

Athapaththu cranks it up

From 85 for 2 in 11 overs, Sri Lanka made 99 in the last nine. Athapaththu made 68 off her own, a majority of those coming in the last three overs. Unbeaten on 76 off 57 at the end of the 17th over, Athapaththu hit one four and five sixes in the last three overs. This included two back-to-back sixes off Aisya Eleesa’s military medium to bring up a century in the 19th, the first-ever in the history of the Women’s Asia Cup.

Athapaththu’s modus operandi was simple. Clear the front leg and muscle the ball into the arc from long-on to deep midwicket. Malaysia were so out of depth that they operated much of the second half with barely any protection on the leg side boundary against Athapaththu.

Anushka Sanjeewani had the best seat in the house during the course of their 115-run stand off just 62 balls. Sanjeewani’s own contribution to it was 31 off 24. The only semblance of cheer for Malaysia apart from their first wicket came right at the end when Duraisingham picked up two back-to-back wickets to close out the innings.

Winifred Duraisingam took 2 for 34 for Malaysia•Asian Cricket Council

Gimhani – Sri Lanka’s World Cup trump card?

Gimhani was one of the four changes Sri Lanka made in a bid to give everyone in the squad a run in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup. And she responded by picking up three wickets, including two in two overs inside the powerplay, with her left-arm wristspin.

Gimhani imparted plenty of revs on the ball and wasn’t afraid to toss it up. Sure, the quality of the opposition wasn’t the best to challenge her, but figures of 3 for 9 from four overs will be confidence-boosting. Malaysia’s chase never took off and from 17 for 3 in the sixth over, it only kept getting worse. Aina Najwa held on defiantly to bat out 43 balls for her 9 as Malaysia were bowled out for 40 in the final over.

Elsa Hunter, who hit the only two boundaries of the Malaysia innings, was one of Gimhani’s three victims.

(espncricinfo.com)

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SL to host Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens finale

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Sri Lanka has been chosen to host the grand finale of the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series 2025, with the final leg set to take place at the Racecourse Stadium in Colombo on October 18 and 19.

This major international event will feature 12 men’s and 12 women’s national teams from across Asia, competing in a thrilling two-day tournament that promises fast-paced action, top-level rugby, and a vibrant festival atmosphere.

Organised by Asia Rugby, the second and final leg of the series will mark a proud moment for Sri Lanka Rugby, as the island once again becomes the center of Asian rugby.

“This will be a celebration of sevens rugby, with elite athletes, exciting matches, and passionate fans all coming together in Colombo,” Asia Rugby said in its announcement.

The tournament is being supported by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs Sri Lanka and several local partners, who played a key role in securing the event for Sri Lanka.

With the continent’s best teams vying for regional glory, and the packed grandstands expected at the Racecourse, this will be one of the biggest rugby events ever held in Sri Lanka.

(dailynews.lk)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by dailynews.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

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Manmitha wins 2025 USA Karate National C’ship

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A teen of Sri Lankan origin has emerged victorious at the 2025 USA Karate National Championship recently.

Manmitha Senadhi Jinasena, competed in the under-15 age category, representing Maryland from Senshi Karate Do.

Showing talent in Karate from the tender age of seven, Manmita has previously won a Gold Medal from Kata and Silver Medal from Kumite sections from Mid – Atlantic Karate Championship 2025 held in VA USA. Moni represented Senshi Karate Do, Maryland team and many of her team players won many medals in the tournament.

Manmitha, who is a grandchild of well known actress Malani Fonseka, is also involved in theatre and has performed in many musical stage dramas such as Mamma Mia,  Charlotte and Web, Once upon a metres and Radium Girl. She is performing in a new drama Mystery of Edwin Drood.

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B’desh fights back winning 2nd T20I by 83 runs

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Bangladesh made a comeback at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium yesterday (July 13) to level the series 1-1 after defeating Sri Lanka by 83 runs.

Opting to bowl first after winning the toss, Sri Lanka’s decision backfired as Bangladesh posted a formidable total of 177/7 in their allotted 20 overs.

Despite early setbacks, with openers Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain Emon dismissed cheaply for just 7 runs on the board but the visitors bounced back, led by a brilliant 76 off 50 balls by Captain Litton Das, who anchored a crucial 69-run partnership with Towhid Hridoy for the third wicket.

However, Sri Lanka was bundled out for a mere 94 runs, collapsing in just 17.2 overs.

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