Imesha Dulani’s maiden hundred chases down 177 as Sri Lanka go 1-0 up
Imesha Dulani became only the second Sri Lankan woman to score a T20I century, batting through the chase for an unbeaten 101 at Dambulla. Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by six wickets to go 1-0 up in the series.
Jul 31, 2026
Sri Lanka Women chased 177 at Dambulla on 31 July and lost only four wickets doing it, because the batter who walked out first was still there at the end. Imesha Dulani opened, faced 64 balls, hit 17 fours, and finished unbeaten on 101. Sri Lanka got home with six balls to spare and lead the three-match T20I series 1-0.
Only the second Sri Lankan woman to reach three figures
Chamari Athapaththu had been the only Sri Lankan woman with a T20I century to her name, and she has three of them. Dulani is now the second player from the country to get there, and this was her maiden T20I hundred. She reached fifty off 32 balls and moved to three figures off 63, which is as good a sign as any that the innings never stalled through the middle overs.
The shape of it was unusual. Seventeen fours and a single six account for 74 of her 101 runs, and that six was the only time she cleared the rope. Everything else came square and straight along the ground, across 64 deliveries in which she was never dismissed and rarely looked like being.
Athapaththu set the tempo, then Sri Lanka wobbled
Athapaththu made 39 off 22 with five fours and two sixes, and the opening stand was worth 78 inside 7.1 overs. Sri Lanka’s powerplay produced 67 without loss, three more than Pakistan managed at the same stage. Nashra Sandhu ended the partnership and later had Harshitha Samarawickrama caught as well, and with Vishmi Gunaratne going for 3, Sri Lanka slipped from 78 for 1 to 115 for 3.
Sandhu finished with 2 for 25 from her four overs, the only Pakistan bowler to send down a full quota for under seven an over. It made no difference. Kavisha Dilhari took the sensible option and left the scoring to her partner, making 11 off 14 while the fourth-wicket stand added 52 in 36 balls. By the time Dilhari fell in the 19th over the target was 10 away, and Nilakshika Silva hit 9 off 4 to close it out.
Pakistan lost six wickets for 49 after building the platform
Pakistan had the better first hour. Muneeba Ali hit nine fours in a 24-ball 42, the opening stand was 66 by the seventh over, and at 127 for 1 in the 15th a total north of 190 was live. Shawaal Zulfiqar was the one who carried it, reaching a maiden WT20I fifty off 34 balls and making 63 from 41 with ten fours and a six before Chamudi Praboda bowled her.
From 127 for 1 they lost six wickets for 49 runs and closed on 176 for 7. Two of those were run outs, one of them Muneeba, and Eman Naseer’s 21 off 27 on debut cost Pakistan momentum in the middle. Dilhari’s 2 for 36 was the best return of the innings by wickets, while Praboda’s 4-0-29-1 on debut was the tidiest spell any Sri Lanka bowler managed.
Three debuts, and a quick turnaround
Three players won a first WT20I cap at Dambulla. Naseer and Momina Riasat came in for Pakistan, Praboda for Sri Lanka. Riasat went wicketless but conceded 33 from her four overs, which in a match that produced 353 runs is a respectable start.
The T20Is follow an ODI series Sri Lanka won 2-1 after losing the opener at Hambantota, so Pakistan reach the second T20I having lost three of their last four completed matches on this tour. That game is at Dambulla on Sunday 2 August, starting at 10am IST, with the third and last on 4 August at the same ground.