Imesha Dulani's Unbeaten 101 Gives Sri Lanka the First Women's T20I
Chasing 177 in Dambulla, Imesha Dulani made a hundred and stayed unbeaten to take Sri Lanka home with an over to spare. Match reports call it the first T20I century by a Sri Lankan woman other than Chamari Athapaththu.
Sri Lanka Women needed 177 to win, a total that wins more women's T20 internationals than it loses, and for a while it looked as though Pakistan had posted enough. Then Imesha Dulani took the game away from them.
The chase
Dulani finished unbeaten on 101 from 64 balls, and Sri Lanka reached 177 for 4 with an over to spare, a six wicket win at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on 31 July.
By the match reports, it was the first century by a Sri Lankan woman in a T20 international by anyone other than Chamari Athapaththu, the captain who has carried that batting line almost single handed for a decade. That is the part worth sitting with. A side that has leaned on one great player for its big scores has found a second name willing to make one.
How Pakistan set it up
Pakistan had made a competitive 176 for 7. Shawaal Zulfiqar brought up a maiden T20I fifty with 63, and put on 66 for the first wicket with Muneeba Ali, who made 42 from 24 balls. On most nights in Dambulla that is a winning platform.
The series
This is a three match T20I series, with the games on 31 July, 2 August and 4 August, all in Dambulla. Sri Lanka lead it 1-0. The second match is today, 2 August, and Pakistan will feel the first was lost less to their own batting than to one extraordinary innings in reply.
For Sri Lanka, the question after a night like this is whether Dulani has announced herself or simply had the evening of her life. The next two matches will begin to answer it.
Match and series details verified on 2 August 2026 against the official match report.