Sri Lanka qualified for the Semi Finals of Women’s Asia Cup 2022 as they defeated Bangladesh by 3 runs in the 18th game of the tournament played today (10th October) at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet.
Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu lost the toss for the first time in the tournament and was asked to bat first by the opposition skipper Nigar Sultana.
Sri Lanka made two changes for their playing XI bringing in Achini Kulasuriya and Kavisha Dilhari for Tharika Sewwandi and Kaushani Nuthyangana.
The opening batter Athapaththu continues her poor form with the bat as she was bowled by Jahanara Alam for just 1 run in the 2nd over of the innings. The in-form batter Harshitha Madavi looked good in her short stay at the crease but she was dismissed as the 2nd wicket of Sri Lankan innings for 18 runs.
Post that, Bangladesh spinners never allowed Sri Lankan batters to get going as they managed to restrict the islanders for just 83 runs for 5 wickets in 18.1 overs before rain brought early end to the innings.
After a lengthy rain delay, the play was resumed and the hosts were set a target of 41 runs in 7 overs as per DLS calculations. Though, Bangladesh needed just around a run-a-ball in the 7-over run-chase, it turned out to be tricky chase with the pitch also supporting the bowlers.
Sri Lankan bowlers started very well taking early breakthroughs and kept bowling in the right lines and lengths without letting the boundaries go. When Bangladesh needed 14 runs off 12 balls, the Sri Lankan veteran spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a game changing over in the penultimate over of the innings where she conceded just 1 run while taking 3 wickets.
There was also a runout in the over which turned the game on its head for Sri Lanka. Suddenly, the hosts needed 11 runs in the last over of the innings and from thereon, the defending champions needed a miracle to clinch the win.
Oshadi Ranasinghe who bowled the last over gave away only 7 runs as Sri Lanka registered a thrilling 3-run win to seal their spot in the Semi Finals of the tournament.
With this win, Sri Lanka move up to 3rd place in the points table registering 4 wins in 5 games with 8 points to their name. Sri Lanka will take on Pakistan in their next game on the 11th October at the same venue.
Brief Scores
Sri Lanka Women’s Team 83/5 (18.1) Nilakshi de Silva 28*, Rumana Ahmed 2/14
Bangladesh Women’s Team 37/7 (7) Inoka Ranaweera 4/07
Result – Sri Lanka Women won by 3 runs (DLS)
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harshitha Samarawickrama | c Nigar Sultana b Sanjida Akter Meghla | 18 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 58.06 |
| Chamari Athapaththu | b Salma Khatun | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Anushka Sanjeewani | c Murshida Khatun b Rumana Ahmed | 8 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 61.54 |
| Hasini Perera | c Sobhana Mostary b Fahima Khatun | 11 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 64.71 |
| Nilakshi de Silva | not out | 28 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 90.32 |
| Kavisha Dilhari | c Sobhana Mostary b Rumana Ahmed | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 110.00 |
| Oshadi Ranasinghe | not out | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Extras | 5 (b 4 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 83/5 (18.1 Overs, RR: 4.57) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salma Khatun | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3.00 | |
| Jahanara Alam | 3.1 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 5.48 | |
| Shohely Akhter | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4.50 | |
| Sanjida Akter Meghla | 4 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 3.25 | |
| Rumana Ahmed | 3 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 4.67 | |
| Fahima Khatun | 3 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 5.33 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fargana Hoque Pinky | st Anushka Sanjeewani b Inoka Ranaweera | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Murshida Khatun | st Anushka Sanjeewani b Oshadi Ranasinghe | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Nigar Sultana | c Anushka Sanjeewani b Inoka Ranaweera | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 109.09 |
| Rumana Ahmed | c Nilakshi de Silva b Inoka Ranaweera | 8 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 88.89 |
| Shohely Akhter | c Nilakshi de Silva b Inoka Ranaweera | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Mst Ritu Moni | not out | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 60.00 |
| Fahima Khatun | run out (Anushka Sanjeewani) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Salma Khatun | run out (Malsha Shehani) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Jahanara Alam | not out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 3 (b 0 , lb 2 , nb 0, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 37/7 (7 Overs, RR: 5.29) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sugandika Kumari | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4.50 | |
| Oshadi Ranasinghe | 2 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 6.50 | |
| Inoka Ranaweera | 2 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 3.50 | |
| Kavisha Dilhari | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6.00 | |
 at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet.){kind=link}