Pakistan registered a 5 wicket win in the final league game of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2022, beating Sri Lanka in a closely fought encounter today at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. The two teams who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in the overall league table will face each other again in the 2nd semi-final of the tournament.
Both teams were guaranteed semi-final spots before the game, and therefore had no qualification pressure coming to the game. Sri Lankan Skipper Chamari Athapaththu, who has had a disappointing tournament so far, got off to a flying start after she opted to bat at the toss. Athapaththu’s quick runs ensured a good power play for Sri Lanka as they scored 47 runs in 6 overs, despite losing in-form Harshitha Samarawickrama’s wicket cheaply.
Following Athapaththu’s dismissal in the next over for a well-made 26-ball 41, it was just one-way traffic as the Pakistani bowlers ripped through Sri Lanka’s fragile batting line-up. Apart from all-rounder Oshadi Ranasinghe’s 26 down the order, only Hasini Perera and Kavisha Dilhari were able to get to double figures, scoring 18 and 11 respectively.
Pakistani all-rounder Omaima Sohail was the chief destroyer for Pakistan with her off-breaks, claiming career-best figures of 5 for 13. She in fact went past Nida Dar’s record of 5/21, which was the best bowling figures by a Pakistani bowler in Women’s T20Is. Dar herself picked up a wicket, while 21-year old leg spinner Tuba Hasan picked up 2 wickets.
Ranaweera spins Sri Lanka into Semi Finals of Women’s Asia Cup
The run-chase turned out to be more difficult than what the number appeared to be, as the Sri Lankan bowlers put on a valiant display of tight bowling once again. Having showcased impressive bowling performances throughout the tournament, the Lankan lasses were pretty much in the game with a good chance of winning it even until the first 3 balls of the penultimate over of the innings were bowled. However, two brave sixes from the Pakistani number 7 batter Ayesha Naseem against the bowling of Oshadi Ranasinghe sealed the game for Pakistan in style. Going for two big shots when the equation was only 12 from 9 balls was indeed a brave attempt from Naseem.
While Naseem finished the game, it was the experienced Nida Dar at the other end who remained unbeaten on 26 off 28 deliveries. She was the one who strengthened the ship for Pakistan when they were struggling at 51/4 in the 10th over, with a 45-run 5th wicket stand together with the in-form Aliya Riaz, who scored 20.
In bowling for Sri Lanka, Inoka Ranaweera once again came up with a brilliant spell, bowling her 4 overs for just 12 runs. Pacer Achini Kulasooriya was also brilliant in her 3 overs, giving away just 11 runs. Kavisha Dilhari, who picked up 2 wickets, was slightly on the expensive side with an economy of 5.33, while Sugandika Kumari was also not up to her best. Oshadi Ranasinghe was quite good until she was hit for back-to-back to sixes in the 19th over, but Chamari Athapaththu’s 16th over which gave away 12 runs, eased the pressure off the Pakistani batters, and was costly.
The Semi-final between the two teams will be played in the same venue, starting at 1.00 pm Sri Lankan time on the 13th of October. The winner will meet India or Thailand in the final which will be played on Saturday, the 15th of October.
Brief Scores
SL W – 112 (18.5) Chamari Athapaththu 41, Oshadi Ranasinghe 26, Omaima Sohail 5/13, Tuba Hasan 2/26
Pak W – 113/5 (18.5) Nida Dar 26*, Aliya Riaz 20, Ayesha Naseem 16*, Kavisha Dilhari 2/16
Pakistan Women won by 5 wickets
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamari Athapaththu | c Nida Dar b Tuba Hassan | 41 | 26 | 9 | 0 | 157.69 |
| Harshitha Samarawickrama | c Omaima Sohail b Nida Dar | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16.67 |
| Hasini Perera | c & b Omaima Sohail | 18 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Nilakshi de Silva | c Aiman Anwer b Omaima Sohail | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kavisha Dilhari | lbw b Omaima Sohail | 11 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 84.62 |
| Anushka Sanjeewani | lbw b Omaima Sohail | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Malsha Shehani | b Omaima Sohail | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16.67 |
| Oshadi Ranasinghe | lbw b Tuba Hassan | 26 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 89.66 |
| Sugandika Kumari | run out (Bismah Maroof) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Inoka Ranaweera | run out (Sadia Iqbal) | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Achini Kulasuriya | not out | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Extras | 10 (b 4 , lb 0 , nb 1, w 5, pen 0) |
| Total | 112/10 (18.5 Overs, RR: 5.95) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sadia Iqbal | 4 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Aiman Anwer | 3 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 9.33 | |
| Nida Dar | 4 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 6.25 | |
| Tuba Hassan | 3.5 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 7.43 | |
| Omaima Sohail | 4 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 3.25 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muneeba Ali | c Sugandika Kumari b Achini Kulasuriya | 10 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 62.50 |
| Sidra Ameen | c Chamari Athapaththu b Oshadi Ranasinghe | 13 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Bismah Maroof | c Harshitha Madavi b Inoka Ranaweera | 13 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 86.67 |
| Omaima Sohail | lbw b Kavisha Dilhari | 7 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 77.78 |
| Nida Dar | not out | 26 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 92.86 |
| Aliya Riaz | c & b Kavisha Dilhari | 20 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 76.92 |
| Ayesha Nasem | not out | 16 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 320.00 |
| Extras | 8 (b 1 , lb 4 , nb 0, w 3, pen 0) |
| Total | 113/5 (18.5 Overs, RR: 6) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sugandika Kumari | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 6.33 | |
| Oshadi Ranasinghe | 3 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 5.33 | |
| Achini Kulasuriya | 3.5 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 9.14 | |
| Inoka Ranaweera | 4 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 3.00 | |
| Kavisha Dilhari | 3 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 5.33 | |
| Malsha Shehani | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6.00 | |
| Chamari Athapaththu | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12.00 | |
