Chamari Athapaththu becomes first Sri Lanka cricketer to register iconic milestone

Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu etched her name into the history books as she became the first Sri Lanka woman cricketer to score 4000 runs in ODIs. The milestone was achieved during Sri Lanka’s must-win clash against Bangladesh in the ongoing Women’s World Cup 2025, held at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.

Athapaththu, who needed just one run to reach the landmark before the match, brought up the achievement early in her innings. Opening the batting after winning the toss, she played a fluent knock of 46 off 43 deliveries before falling to Bangladeshi spinner Rabeya Khan.

While she narrowly missed out on a half-century, the 35-year-old’s innings carried major significance. With this achievement, she not only became the first Sri Lankan woman to breach the 4000-run mark in ODIs, but also joined an elite group of batters globally. She is now only the fourth Asian woman and the 20th overall to reach the milestone in the women’s 50-over format.

The magnitude of her feat is underlined by the gap between her and the next best in Sri Lankan women’s cricket. Shashikala Siriwardene, who previously captained the side, is second on the all-time list for Sri Lanka with 2029 ODI runs, just over half of Athapaththu’s tally.

Sri Lanka post 202 on board

After Athapaththu departed, Hasini Perera took over the charge and made 85 runs to keep the scoreboard ticking. Her valuable knock and Nilakshi de Silva’s 37 runs off 38, helped Sri Lanka post 202 runs on the board in the first innings. The team would have expected a better finish to the innings, but Bangladesh pulled off a strong bowling performance, particularly Shorna Akter, who clinched three wickets.

When it came to the chase, Bangladesh lost two wickets for 24 runs. It will be a mountain to climb for the team, while Sri Lanka would hope to pack them early and pick up two crucial points.