Silva fifty, Athapaththu 7-5 - Sri Lanka top Group B with massive win over Indonesia

Defending champions Sri Lanka Women survived an early stumble to secure a 75-run victory over Indonesia Women in their Women's T20 Asia Cup 2026 match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 2, 2026.

Sri Lanka Women: 124/7 (20 overs) | Indonesia Women: 49 all out (18.3 overs) | Result: Sri Lanka Women won by 75 runs

Sri Lanka's Early Stutter: Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka's top order struggled on a sluggish surface against Indonesia's disciplned bowling, slumping to 62 for 6 in the 13th over.

Nilakshika's Rescue Act: Nilakshika Silva anchored the lower order, scoring a counter-attacking 50 off 35 balls. She put together a crucial 50-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Kawya Kavindi to elevate Sri Lanka to a competitive 124 for 7.

Athapaththu's Record Wicket Haul: Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu produced a historic performance with the ball, taking career-best figures of 7 for 5 in 3.3 overs—the fifth-best bowling figures in Women's T20I history. Hat-Trick Finish: Athapaththu dismantled Indonesia's batting order and sealed the match by taking a hat-trick off the final three balls of the 19th over, skittling Indonesia out for just 49.

In Chethana Vimukthi, Sri Lanka might have their first ever genuine fast bowler but on a wicket where the ball was not quite coming on, pace never seemed like the answer. For the first two overs of the chase, Indonesia's openers did well to find boundaries against Vimukthi and and fellow seamer Kawya, but then Sri Lanka introduced their spinners.

Athapaththu promptly castled Pangestuti before removing Corazon and Rada Rani off consecutive deliveries in her next over. Here she missed her hat-trick by a whisker, a yorker narrowly missing Desi Wulandari's off stump.

She brought herself back into the attack in the 14th and removed Nanda Sakarini, and she capped things off by achieving her hat-trick at the second time of asking, taking three wickets off what proved to be the final three deliveries of the innings.