Bangladeshi skipper Nigar Sultana played a gem of an innings to help her side chase down 145 in the 1st T20I against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club Grounds in Colombo.
The visitors were under pressure after the powerplay in their chase, losing the two openers Shamima Sultana and Rubya Haider cheaply, but Nigar Sultana and Shobhana Mostary put on 51 for the 3rd wicket to keep them in the game. Sultana was the one who gave the Bangladeshi innings all the momentum, blasting 3 boundaries off the 6th over to get going.
The right-hander has looked in good touch throughout the limited time the teams have spent out in the middle, with plenty of rain around, but today found able support from the other end from Mostary and Ritu Moni, who made 33. She kept Bangladesh in the game, despite the climbing required rate and eventually the visitors managed to chase 35 off the last 3 overs, with 17 coming off the penultimate one bowled by Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu.
Photo Album – Bangladesh Women tour of Sri Lanka 2023 – 1st T20I
In the end, Sri Lanka were left to rue a couple of chances that had gone abegging during the Sultana-Mostary partnership, with none of the spinners able to make a telling impact in the game. This was Bangladesh’s 1st T20I on Sri Lankan soil and their 1st win against Sri Lanka since 2014 – breaking a 7 T20I losing streak.
Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka got off to a good start after winning the toss and opting to bat first, with Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne getting starts. The former was in customarily aggressive form, looking to take on the bowling while the others looked to bat around her, but played one shot too many against Nahida Akther to be dismissed for 38.
Harshitha Samarawickrama continued her good form, holding the innings together, but Sri Lanka struggled to find any momentum once Athapaththu was dismissed, eventually getting to 145 thanks mostly to some good running between the wickets.
The two teams will face off in the 2nd T20I on Thursday (11th) at the same venue.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamari Athapaththu | c Sobhana Mostary b Nahida Akter | 38 | 28 | 2 | 3 | 135.71 |
| Vishmi Gunaratne | c Rabeya Khan b Fariha Trisna | 11 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 137.50 |
| Harshitha Samarawickrama | c Fariha Trisna b Sultana Khatun | 45 | 44 | 5 | 0 | 102.27 |
| Nilakshi de Silva | not out | 29 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 103.57 |
| Hasini Perera | b Fahima Khatun | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Kavisha Dilhari | c Nahida Akter b Fahima Khatun | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Anushka Sanjeewani | st Nigar Sultana b Rabeya Khan | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Oshadi Ranasinghe | -select- b | 8 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | 13 (b 2 , lb 0 , nb 2, w 9, pen 0) |
| Total | 145/6 (20 Overs, RR: 7.25) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fariha Trisna | 4 | 0 | 35 | 1 | 8.75 | |
| Sultana Khatun | 4 | 0 | 30 | 1 | 7.50 | |
| Nahida Akter | 4 | 0 | 35 | 1 | 8.75 | |
| Rabeya Khan | 4 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 5.75 | |
| Fahima Khatun | 4 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 5.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shamima Sultana | c Kavisha Dilhari b Kawya Kavindi | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Rubya Haider | c Hasini Perera b Udeshika Prabodhani | 9 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 56.25 |
| Sobhana Mostary | st Anushka Sanjeewani b Oshadi Ranasinghe | 17 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 70.83 |
| Nigar Sultana | not out | 75 | 51 | 7 | 2 | 147.06 |
| Ritu Moni | run out (Anushka Sanjeewani) | 33 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 143.48 |
| Murshida Khatun | not out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 7 (b 0 , lb 3 , nb 1, w 3, pen 0) |
| Total | 146/4 (19.5 Overs, RR: 7.36) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Udeshika Prabodhani | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 2.33 | |
| Kawya Kavindi | 2 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 7.00 | |
| Oshadi Ranasinghe | 4 | 0 | 39 | 1 | 9.75 | |
| Inoka Ranaweera | 3.5 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 8.29 | |
| Kavisha Dilhari | 3 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7.00 | |
| Chamari Athapaththu | 4 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 8.25 | |
