Oshadie Ranasinghe starred for the Lankan lasses as they picked up their 1st win at the World T20 warm-ups yesterday.
Batting first, opponents Bangladesh were bowled out for 95 in 19.5 overs as Ranasinghe picked up a hattrick on her way to figures of 4/14 in 2.5 overs. The Lankans chased down the total with relative ease, making 97/5 in 18 overs.
The win will be a huge boost for the Sri Lankans as they have had a torrid time of late, losing 15 international games on the trot. Sri Lankan Skipper Shashikala Siriwardene was quick to put the opposition in to bat when she won the toss and her decision paid dividends as opening bowlers Udeshika Prabodhani and Eshani Lokusooriya bowled splendidly, picking up 3 wickets between them. A disastrous run-out meant that Bangladesh were tottering on 16/4 at one stage. A brief period of rebuilding followed but some tight bowling by the spinners did not allow the Bangladesh batters to make a big score. Ranasinghe picked up Jahanara Alam, Panna Ghosh and Khadija Tul Kubra off consecutive deliveries in the final over to record her 1st career hattrick; she also ran out Nigar Sultana and had Fahima Khatun stumped earlier in the day.
Chasing 95, Sri Lanka lost Chamari Atapattu early but Yasoda Mendis, Dilani Manodara and Siriwardene ensured that there was no batting collapse. Lokusooriya smashed 16 off 11 deliveries to bring the game to an end.
The Sri Lankans will face India on the 12th in their 2nd and final warm-up game before the World T20 gets underway.
Scores
Bangladesh 95 all out (19.5) Nigar Sultana 33, Rumana Ahamed 20, Oshadi Ransinghe 4/14
Sri Lanka 97/5 (18.0) Shashikala Siriwardene 22, Yashoda Mendis 20, Rumana Ahamed 3/9
