On Friday in the second semi-final of the Women’s Asia Cup, Chamari Athapaththu as captain led Sri Lanka to a thrilling three-wicket win against Pakistan, her resilient half-century being decisive for a determined Lankan.
The victory earned Sri Lanka a place in Sunday’s final against India after they crushed Bangladesh by ten wickets in the opening semifinal. The final is scheduled for Sunday.
Parami News reported that Athapaththu, who has made 223 runs so far and is one of the highest run-scorers in this tournament alone brought the islanders close to their target of 141 while scoring an attractive 63 off just 48 balls with nine fours and one sixes during his well-timed innings.
Sri Lanka’s grip on this match was further strengthened through a partnership between her and Kalisha Dilhari (17 off 18 balls) worth sixty one runs for the third wicket. In addition, Anushka Sanjeevani also contributed with an unbeaten 24 off 22 balls which included another four and six reaching them to their target of 141/7 in just nineteen point five overs.
Pakistan fought back well through seasoned left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal, who picked up four wickets for only sixteen runs from four overs but with no real support from other bowlers allowing home side slide over the line.
But it was not enough as Pakistan had laid down weak foundation relying on contributions from Muneeba Ali (37), Gull Feroza (25), Nida Dar (23), Fatima Sana (23*).
However, none could go on after getting starts and it resulted into Pakistan posting some mini total of only one hundred forty for four thus slightly failing short as proved later on.
Brief scores: Pakistan 140/4 in 20 overs (Muneeba Ali 37, Gull Feroza 25, Nida Dar 23, Fatima Sana 23*; Udeshika Prabodhani 2/23) lost to Sri Lanka 141/7 in 19.5 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 63, Anushka Sanjeevani 24*; Sadia Iqbal 4/16) by three wickets.
