Defending champions Sri Lanka Women made a commanding start to their Women’s Asia Cup 2026 campaign, crushing UAE Women by nine wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
After dismissing UAE for just 79, Sri Lanka chased down the target with 73 balls to spare, earning two valuable points and a significant boost to their net run rate. The victory also became Sri Lanka’s biggest-ever win in Women’s T20Is in terms of balls remaining.
UAE Batting Collapses
Asked to bat first, UAE never recovered after losing early wickets and struggled to build partnerships throughout the innings.
Captain Esha Oza top-scored with 18 from 24 deliveries, while only a handful of batters reached double figures. Sri Lanka’s disciplined bowling attack kept the scoring under control, bowling UAE out for just 79 in 19.5 overs.
Dream Debut for Chethana Vimukthi
Making her T20I debut, Chethana Vimukthi enjoyed a memorable outing with the ball.
The young seamer claimed 3/16 from her four overs and immediately justified her selection with an impressive display of pace and accuracy. Mithali Ayodha provided excellent support, returning figures of 3/14 in 3.5 overs.
Although Dubai is generally known for assisting spin bowlers, Sri Lanka’s pace attack dominated proceedings, combining for six wickets while conceding only 30 runs. Vimukthi was deservedly named Player of the Match.
Athapaththu Leads Aggressive Chase
Sri Lanka’s openers wasted little time putting the result beyond doubt.
Imesha Dulani attacked from the outset, while captain Chamari Athapaththu quickly found her rhythm as the pair added 57 runs inside six overs.
Athapaththu also reached a personal milestone during her innings, becoming the first batter to score 500 runs in the history of the Women’s Asia Cup after launching Esha Oza for the first six of the match.
Dulani Falls, Athapaththu Finishes the Job
Dulani’s entertaining innings ended in unfortunate fashion when she was run out at the non-striker’s end after a deflection from the bowler’s attempted stop struck the stumps.
She departed for 25 from 18 balls, but Athapaththu ensured there were no further setbacks. The Sri Lankan skipper remained unbeaten on 48 from just 25 deliveries, striking at an impressive rate of 192 while sealing victory with more than 12 overs to spare.
Huge Boost for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s dominant victory gave the defending champions an early advantage in Group A, lifting their net run rate to +6.263 after the opening round of matches.
With both their fast bowlers and top-order batters making immediate impacts, Sri Lanka sent a strong message to the rest of the competition.
Upcoming Fixtures
- Sri Lanka: vs Indonesia, Dubai – September 2
- UAE: vs Indonesia, Dubai – September 4
