An extremely anticlimactic White Ferns cricket tour dictated by the bat of Sri Lankan superstar Chamari Athapaththu ended in fitting fashion.
Through all three ODIs and three Twenty20s, the result has been foretold within a few overs of Sri Lanka’s innings. As close to a one-person team as you’ll get in international cricket, when Athapaththu has been dismissed early — twice for a golden duck, once on two in a calamitous runout — the White Ferns have cruised to victory.
On the three other occasions — 108 not out off 83 balls, 140 not out off 105 balls, and, yesterday, 80 not out off 47 balls — Sri Lanka have soared to victory, with the Kiwis returning home with a three-win, three-loss record, and all results have hinged on the contributions of Athapaththu.
The final match was the most emphatic showing yet, with Sri Lanka chasing down New Zealand’s target of 141 with a laughable 33 balls to spare and 10 wickets in hand.
In fairness, she was helped in this dead rubber by New Zealand taking the opportunity to give everyone a game. The Ferns led the T20 series 2-0 going into the third match in Colombo, so brought in Izzy Gaze, Molly Penfold and Hannah Rowe for Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Lea Tahuhu and Leigh Kasperek.