SYLHET – Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by one run in a last-ball thriller in the second semi-final at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS) to qualify for the final of the ACC Women’s Asia Cup.
The final will be played between India and Sri Lanka on Saturday, 15 October.
The Team Green was required three runs off the final ball to win the match when Nida Dar was run-out while attempting to take a double, as Pakistan managed to score 121 for six in their 20 overs while chasing a target of 123 runs.
The opening pair of Muneeba Ali and Sidra Amin provided a solid 31-run start to the innings. The left-handed Muneeba scored 18 off 10 balls, hitting three fours, before getting herself run-out on the first ball of the fourth over.
After the departure of Muneeba, captain Bismah Maroof joined Sidra and the pair added a 16-run partnership for the second wicket. Sidra was dismissed by Inoka Ranaweera on the last ball of the seventh over with 47 runs on the board.
At the crucial juncture of the match, Bismah and Nida got together and the most experienced pair took Pakistan to 107, with Bismah getting dismissed for 42 off 41, studded with four fours. The pair stitched 42 runs for the fourth wicket.
The dismissal of Bismah gave a ray of hope to Sri Lanka and they fully capitalised on the chance and restricted Pakistan to 121. Nida scored run-a-ball 26, and struck one four.
Earlier, after opting to bat first, Sri Lanka managed to score 122 for six in their 20 overs, on the back of 50-run partnership between Harshitha Samarawickrama and Nilakshi de Silva for the third wicket.
