3 interesting facts about Sri Lanka's Harshitha Samarawickrama who scored a match-winning 69* in Women's Asia Cup final vs India
Sri Lanka batter Harshitha Samarawickrama's astounding knock against India helped the team clinch their maiden Women's Asia Cup title on Sunday, July 28, in Dambulla. She remained unbeaten on 69* off 51 balls, with six fours and two sixes, and was named the Player of the Match.
After opting to bat, India posted a formidable total of 165, with Smriti Mandhana scoring 60 off 47 balls. Kavisha Dilhari was the pick of the bowlers for the home team with two scalps.
In response, Sri Lanka lost their first wicket in the second over but the pair of Chamari Athapaththu and Harshita steered the team on the right path with their positive intent. Athapaththu garnered 61 off 43 in the 12th over before the duo added an 87-run stand.
Dilhari (30*) supported Harshita well, as the Lankan side chased down the score in the 19th over. Interestingly, it was the team's first title victory in the continental tournament while finishing as runners-up on five occasions.
On that note, let's take a look at a few interesting facts about Harshitha Samarawickrama.
#1 Harshitha Samarawickrama was the fastest Sri Lanka batter to reach 1,000 runs in T20Is
Earlier this year, Harshitha Samarawickrama reached a crucial milestone of 1,000 runs in the shortest format. She achieved the feat in April against South Africa in East London, where she scored an unbeaten 54 off 43 balls to pave the way for the side to seal the chase of 156 with five balls to spare.
Interestingly, the southpaw is the fastest Sri Lankan batter to cross the 1,000-run mark in T20Is, taking only 48 innings. The likes of Chamari Athapaththu (57) and Shashikala Siriwardene (64) follow her in this list.
Harshitha Samarawickrama is also the second-highest run-scorer in T20Is for Sri Lanka with 1,312 runs in 59 innings, behind Athapaththu's 3,326 runs in 137 innings.
#2 Samarawickrama holds the record for highest partnership for Sri Lanka in T20Is
In July 2023, Sri Lanka met New Zealand in the third game of the series in Colombo. Batting first, the White Ferns posted a respectable total of 140, with Maddy Green scoring 46 off 25 balls. Inoka Ranaweera was the pick of the bowlers for the home team with three scalps.
Thereafter, Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama were impressive with their strokeplay to drive the team at a comfortable rate. Skipper Athapaththu slammed 80* off 47 while Harshitha garnered 49* off 40 as the Sri Lankan team chased down the score in less than 15 overs.
The duo shared an unbeaten 143-run stand, which is the highest for any pair for Sri Lanka in the shortest format.
#3 Samarawickrama captained silver-medal-winning Sri Lankan team at the 2019 South Asian Games
Harshitha Samarawickrama led the Sri Lankan team in the South Asian Games 2019, held in Pokhara. The side went on to finish second in the group stage with two victories in three games.
Thereafter, they prevailed over the Nepal team by 41 runs to reach the final. The final was a toughly-contested affair, as Bangladesh secured a thrilling two-run victory to win the gold medal.
Harshitha Samarawickrama emerged as the finest batter for the Islanders with 187 runs in four innings at an average of 62.33. Umasha Thimeshani did well to finish with six wickets for the silver-medal winning team.