Sri Lanka celebrate their win against Malaysia
Sri Lanka Captain Chamari Athapaththu batting in the game against Malaysia
Sri Lanka booked a spot in the semi-final of the Women’s cricket competition at the Asian Games after an 86-run win over Malaysia in the third quarter-final played at Korogi Sports Park, Nisshin on Friday.
Both Chamari Athapaththu and Kavisha Dilhari starred in all-round capacities, scoring 63 off 37 balls (7 fours, 3 sixes) and 44* off 27 balls (6 fours) respectively before picking up two wickets each.
After opting to bat first, Sri Lanka endured a quiet start, making just 10 runs from the first four overs for the loss of Imesha Dulani’s wicket to a run out. The fifth over marked a change in tempo with Athapaththu taking 23 runs off Aisya Eleesa. That was followed by Hasini Perera striking two fours in the following over as Sri Lanka reached 38-1 at the end of the Powerplay.
Athapaththu continued to make merry and brought up her fifty off just 28 balls with a six in the 11th over. The partnership swelled to 80 off 53 balls before Nurin Imanina struck twice in the space of three overs to remove both set batters Athapaththu and Perera (23). Malaysia’s respite was short-lived as another substantial partnership worth 62 off 37 balls took place between Dilhari and Harshitha Samarawickrama (25) that powered Sri Lanka to 160-4.
Dilhari then returned to cause early damage with the ball too as she dismissed Wan Julia and Mas Elysa off successive deliveries to end the sixth over. Malaysia, who had already lost Ainna Hamizah Hashim to a run-out in the first over, finished the Powerplay on 25-3. They continued to struggle against the Sri Lankan bowlers for the remainder of their innings and were unable to get anywhere close to the asking rate.
Just one boundary was struck between overs seven and 18 as Malaysia added just 40 runs in that period. The result of the game was a foregone conclusion when Athapaththu claimed two wickets in the 19th over. Mithali Ayodhya too, added two wickets to her tally in the final over as Malaysia were restricted to just 74-7.
Sri Lanka are now set to face Pakistan in the first semifinal on Sunday.
Scores:
Sri Lanka 160-4 (20) (Chamari Athapaththu 63, Hasini Perera 23, Kavisha Dilhari 44*, Harshitha Samarawickrama 25, Nurin Imanina 3/29) beat Malaysia 74-7 (20) (Winfield Duraisingam 28, Mahirah Izzati Ismail 24; Mithali Ayodhya 2/15, Kavisha Dilhari 2/4, Chamari Athapaththu 2/3)