Seven wickets in 21 balls: History of Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu’s record-breaking spell

Defending champions Sri Lanka moved to the top of Group B in the Women’s Asia Cup after beating Indonesia by 75 runs in Dubai on Thursday thanks to captain Chamari Athapaththa’s record seven wickets and Nilakshika Silva’s half-century.Sri Lanka defended a modest target of 125 on a slow pitch, but Athapaththa turned the match around with one of the best bowling performances in women’s T20 internationals.She came to bowl in the fourth over and struck with her fourth, seventh and eighth deliveries. Although she missed out on a hat-trick in that over, she completed it later by taking three wickets in three balls over two overs.Athapaththu finished with 7/5 in 21 balls to become the first bowler from a full member nation to take seven wickets in a women’s T20I. The previous best figures in women’s T20Is were Zimbabwe’s Esther Mbofan, who took 6/11 against Eswatini in 2021.Indonesia were bowled out for 49. Rahmawati Pangestuti scored 10 while Ni Made Putri Suwandewi remained unbeaten on 12. No other Indonesian batsman reached double figures.Earlier, Sri Lanka were in trouble at 62/6 before Nilakshika Silva scored 50 off 35 balls to lift them to 124/7.For Indonesia, Ni Luh Dewi was the pick of the bowlers with 3/32.The win lifted Sri Lanka to the top of Group B in the Women’s Asia Cup.In Group A, India remains at the top of the standings, with Pakistan in second place.Meanwhile, India’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana also made history during India’s Group A match against Hong Kong in Dubai. The 30-year-old passed Mithali Raj to become the top run-scorer in women’s international cricket across all formats.