The Sri Lankan women’s cricket team set up the final of the Asian Games cricket tournament against India following a six-wicket wins over Pakistan in their match on Sunday. The title clash will take place on Monday. Sri Lanka had elected to field first, and its bowlers wasted no time in proving that their skipper, Chamari Athapaththu, was right.
Udeshika Prabodhani (3/21) and Kavisha Dilhari (2/15), the standout bowlers for Sri Lanka, toyed with Pakistani batters.
Shawaal Zulfiqar (16) top-scored for Pakistan, while Omaima Sohail (10) and wicketkeeper-batter Muneeba Ali (13) were the other two players to touch the double-digit mark as Pakistan was reduced to 75/9 in 20 overs.
In the chase of 76, Pakistan did give Lanka some headaches. Skipper Chamari Athapaththu (14) was the first one to go, and SL was 35/3 in 7.1 overs. But Harshitha Samarawickrama (23) and Nilakshi de Silva (18*) won Sri Lanka the match with six wickets and 21 balls to go.
Sadia Iqbal, Diana Baig, and Umm-e-Hani took a wicket each for Pakistan.
Earlier, the Indian women’s cricket team secured a place in the final of the Asian Games with a thumping 8-wicket victory against Bangladesh to seal their place in the final of the Asian Games on Sunday.
Jemimah Rodrigues (20*) with her impressive skills, allowed India to coast comfortably to the final. Right-arm pacer Pooja Vastrakar led the charge with the ball, as her heroics played a crucial role in restricting Bangladesh to a score of 51.
A feeling of nostalgia crept in the Indian fans as, less than a month ago, the men’s team pulled off a similar feat against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final.
India stumbled twice while chasing the paltry score of 51. Openers Smriti Mandhana (7) and Shafali Verma (17) fell victims to pacer Marufa Akter and spinner Fahima Khatun, respectively. Earlier in the innings, Vastrakar spearheaded India’s bowling attack with her four-wicket haul to make short work of Bangladesh’s batting set-up.
