Nethmi, Dewmi steer SL Women to title win

By: M. Shamil Amit

Feb. 2 (Daily Mirror) - A quick-fire 57-ball knock of 66 inclusive of eight boundaries by Nethmi Senaratne and a fine all-round performance by Dewmi Wijeratne helped Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 36 runs in the Women’s Under-19 Tri-Nation Twenty20 final played at the Sheikh Kamal Cricket Stadium in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

It was sweet revenge for the champion Sri Lanka team as they came into the final having suffered two defeats against the home side during the league segment.

The foundation for Sri Lanka’s win was laid by the openers Nethmi Senaratme and Dewmi Wijeratne, as the pair gave the side a solid start of 104 runs in 86 balls, which helped them to end with a challenging score of 148 for three.

Later Dewmi, who bagged three scalps spearheaded the bowling attack and along with Madushani Herath and Rismi Sanjana, who shared four wickets between them, succeeded in restricting the home side for 112.

This is the first time ever that a Sri Lanka Women’s Team had won an international cricket tournament.

Wijeratne was named Player of the Final while Rabeya of the Bangladesh Women’s Under-19 Team was selected as the Player of the Tournament.

Chief scores

• Sri Lanka Women’s Under-19: 148/3 in 20 overs (Nethmi Senarathna 66 n.o, Dewmi Vihanga 49)
• Bangladesh Women’s Under-19: 112/8 in 20 overs (Rabeya Khan 31, Dewmi Vihanga 3/13, Yasanthi Nimanthika 2/16, Rismi Sanjana 2/23).