It will be a repeat of the previous edition’s final as India and Sri Lanka will battle it out in the summit clash of the Women’s Asia Cup on Sunday. The Chamari Athapaththu-led side progressed to the final after beating Pakistan by four wickets in the second semi-final at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday. Sri Lanka now has a chance to defend their title, while India will aim to reclaim the throne they lost last time around.
The semi-final between Sri Lanka and Pakistan turned out to be a riveting contest, and in the end, the former somehow managed to get the job done with four wickets in hand and eight balls to spare. Earlier, India had defeated Bangladesh by 40 runs in the first semi-final to book a place in the all-important final.
Chasing 131, Sri Lanka got off to the worst start possible as Pakistan captain Fatima Sana dismissed Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu (5) and Sanjana Kavindi (0) on consecutive deliveries in the second over. Pakistan then further tightened its grip on the contest as Umm-e-Hani and Sadia Iqbal joined the wicket-taking spree, reducing Sri Lanka to 33/4.
However, Harshitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari then joined forces in the middle, and the duo brought Sri Lanka back into the contest, showing a perfect mix of caution and aggression. The two batters put on 67 runs for the fifth wicket, but as soon as Sri Lanka started to run away with the game, Pakistan staged a comeback as skipper Sana dismissed both the set batters Samarawickrama (36) and Dilhari (33) in the 17th over, and the equation came down to 22 runs in 18 balls with four wickets in hand.
The game changed its course once again. Kaushani Nuthyangana and Nilakshika Silva hammered Iqbal and Sana in the final two overs, and in the end, Sri Lanka got the job done with four wickets in hand and balls to spare. Pakistan lost the plot and gave the game away on a platter. Sana was leading the one-woman show, but a no-ball in the penultimate over was the clincher for Sri Lanka.
How did the Pakistan innings unfold?
The contest between Pakistan and Sri Lanka began with the latter winning the toss and opting to bowl. The first ten overs of the contest saw Sri Lanka dominating the affair after the Fatima Sana-led side was reduced to 52/4.
Skipper Athapaththu led from the front in the opening phase of the game, dismissing Shawaal Zulfiqar (24) and Ayesha Zafar (7). Fatima Sana and Gull Feroza then got together at the crease, putting up a 40-run stand for the fifth wicket, but when the time came for acceleration, Feroza ended up losing her wicket for 21.
However, Sana stayed unbeaten in the end, hitting an unbeaten 47 with the help of 4 fours and 2 sixes to help Pakistan post 130/5 in the allotted twenty overs.
