A blazing half-century from Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu has helped the Northern Brave to a 19-run victory over the Auckland Hearts this afternoon.
Athapaththu smashed 58 off just 38 balls, including 10 fours, to help the Brave to 133 for seven after being sent in to bat at Mt Maunganui's Bay Oval.
The Sri Lankan skipper also chipped in with the ball, snaring the wicket of Izzy Gaze as the Brave turned the screws early in the run chase.
Maddy Green (32), Prue Catton (28) and Brooke Halliday (20) tried to keep the Hearts in the chase, but the asking rate continued to climb as the overs ticked by, and the visiting Auckland side eventually fell short by 19 runs.
Marama Downes picked up two wickets, while Athapaththu, Shriya Naidu and Nensi Patel shared one apiece.
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