Chamari Athapaththu special powers Sri Lanka to record run-chase

ICC: Chamari Athapaththu smashed the third-highest individual score in women's ODIs to help Sri Lanka pull off the highest-ever successful run-chase in women's ODIs.

Chamari Athapaththu was at her brutal best as Sri Lanka stunned South Africa with a record run-chase in Potchefstroom to level the three-match ICC Women's Championship ODI series and end a highly successful bilateral tour to the Rainbow Nation.

Chasing 302 to win, Athapaththu led Sri Lanka’s fightback with a stunning hundred, and remained unbeaten on 195, the third-highest score in women’s ODIs, as the visitors overhauled the target with 33 balls to spare.

Athapaththu's innings was also the second highest individual score in a successful run chase in ODI cricket - both men's and women's - marginally behind the magnificent 201* Glenn Maxwell put together for Australia against Afghanistan at last year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.

Earlier, Laura Wolvaardt continued her stellar run in the bilateral series against Sri Lanka with a second ODI hundred in as many matches. The opener smashed an unbeaten 184 to take South Africa to 301 in the third and final ODI of the series.

Wolvaardt’s knock is the highest score by a South African in women's ODIs and was also the fourth-highest in women’s ODIs for a brief while, going past Athapaththu’s 178* against Australia in 2017.

Australia had held the record for the highest run-chase in women’s ODIs for more than a decade. In 2012, Australia chased down a target of 289 against New Zealand. Last year, they also chased down 283 against India at the Wankhede.