Bristol: Skipper Chamari Athappathu’s unbeaten century helped Sri Lanka to a commanding nine-wicket victory over Ireland in the 20th match of the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at the County Ground on Tuesday.
A disciplined bowling attack from Sri Lankan skipper Athapatu saw Ireland reeling off a modest 130/5 in 20 overs despite captain KP Lewis anchoring them.
Lewis, Ireland’s top scorer with 59 off 50 balls with 8 fours, scored an unbeaten 28 off 21 balls, while Leah Ball (20) and Rebecca Stoggall (13) were the others to score double figures.
Nilakshika Silva, Sukanthika Kumari, Mithali Ayodhya and Athapatu took one wicket each for the Sri Lankan side.
In reply, Sri Lanka chased down the target of 131 runs with one wicket and 27 balls to spare thanks to a brilliant century from skipper Athapathu.
The Sri Lankan captain led Sri Lanka’s winning streak and scored an unbeaten 106 off 61 balls, unbeaten with 17 fours and two sixes, which earned him the man of the match award.
Fellow opener Imesha Dulani scored 20 off 27 balls until Orla Prendergast fell in the 12th over, while Nilakshika Silva contributed an unbeaten four as Atabatu steered Sri Lanka over the line in the 16th over.
The nine-wicket win, Sri Lanka’s second win of the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup, lifted them to fourth place in the Group 2 standings with four points, while Ireland lost their first four matches to remain bottom.