Records are meant to be broken but rarely does someone shatter multiple ones in a single spell, yet that’s exactly what Sri Lanka’s women’s team captain Chamari Athapaththu managed to do on Wednesday, September 2. She etched her name into history by becoming the first player, across both men’s and women’s cricket, to take seven wickets in an Asia Cup match.
Bowling just 3.3 overs for Sri Lanka in their Group B clash against Indonesia at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Chamari Athapaththu picked up an incredible seven wickets while conceding only five runs.
The previous best bowling figures in an Asia Cup match belonged to Pakistan’s Javeria Khan, who had dismissed six Bangladeshi batters back in a 2008 Women’s Asia Cup game in Dambulla.
Chamari Athapaththu’s remarkable figures of 7 for 5 didn’t stop at the Asia Cup record either, they also made her the best T20I bowler in Sri Lankan cricket history, surpassing every other Sri Lankan player, male or female, in that format.
Her spell proved decisive in the match, helping Sri Lanka bowl Indonesia out for just 49 runs while defending a target of 125. The result was a comfortable 75-run win for Sri Lanka, a result that has all but sealed their spot in the semi-finals of the ongoing eight-team tournament being held in the UAE.
Chamari Athapaththu has also become only the second captain in the world to take seven wickets in a T20I match, joining Argentina’s Alison Stocks on that list. Alison Stocks had achieved the feat back on October 14, 2022, finishing with figures of 7 for 3 in 3.4 overs against Peru in Seropedica.
Congratulations, Chamari Athapaththu!
