Inoshi Priyadharshani’s four-wicket haul helped the Sri Lanka women’s team set up a semi-final clash against Pakistan as they defeated Thailand by eight wickets in the Asian Games quarterfinal. The match was played at the Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field in Hangzhou on Friday. Sri Lanka will face Pakistan on Sunday. Chasing 79 runs in the rain-reduced 15-overs-a-side quarterfinal, Sri Lanka cruised to victory in 10.5 overs. Sanjeewani and Chamari Athapaththu made short work of the pursuit.
They reached their fifty-run partnership in the sixth over. Thipatcha Putthawong dismissed Athapaththu after she top-edged a slog sweep. Sanjeewani was also removed by Putthawong.
Thailand made a lot of mistakes and missed opportunities. With a pull over the deep square leg in the eleventh over, Harshitha Samarawickrama ended the match with an eight-wicket win. Sri Lanka Women won the toss and opted to bowl. Although Udeshika Prabodhani noticed some movement in the air, Priyadharshani was responsible for four of the first five wickets, causing maximum damage early on. Thailand were reduced to 37 for 6 but a 29-run partnership between Chanida Sutthiruang and Phannita Maya halted the decline for some time. Thailand were able to reach 78 for 7 in 15 overs thanks in large part to Sutthiruang, who top-scored with an unbeaten 31 and was the only batter to reach double figures.
Brief score: Thailand 78/7 (Chanida Sutthiruang 31, Nattaya Boochatham 9; Inoshi Priyadharshani 4-10) vs. Sri Lanka 84/2 (Anushka Sanjeewani 32, Chamari Athapaththu 27; Thipatcha Putthawong 2-21).
