Sri Lanka Women have reached the semi-finals of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup after beating Bangladesh by four wickets in a tense Group B match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Hiru News reported.

The defending champions chased a target of 115 and reached 115 for six with four balls to spare, on an unbeaten 48 off 37 balls from Harshitha Samarawickrama.

Two spells of three for 21

Seventeen-year-old left-arm spinner Chamudi Praboda took career-best figures of three for 21 to restrict Bangladesh to 114 for eight, despite a steady 34 from Sobhana Mostary.

Bangladesh seamer Marufa Akter then returned the identical analysis — three for 21 — and reduced Sri Lanka to 44 for five, leaving the chase in serious trouble.

Samarawickrama restored control with a 38-run partnership alongside Nilakshika Silva, then attacked in the closing overs to finish the job.

Group B winners, semi-final on Friday

The win was Sri Lanka’s seventh consecutive victory over Bangladesh and took them to the top of Group B. They will play the runners-up of Group A in the semi-final on Friday.

Sri Lanka came into the match already leading the group after captain Chamari Athapaththu’s record seven for five against Indonesia — the best bowling figures ever recorded by a Sri Lankan in women’s T20 internationals — and having opened the title defence with a nine-wicket win over the UAE.

The Daily Mirror, in a sports round-up that carried no publication date and is therefore not cited as a dated source here, reported the same result and added that Marufa Akter removed both Athapaththu and Imesha Dulani early, and that Sri Lanka needed 33 runs from the final four overs before Samarawickrama struck boundaries and a six in the 19th over. It reported Bangladesh can still qualify with a win over the United Arab Emirates.

Update, 8 September: Bangladesh fined for slow over-rate

The International Cricket Council has fined the Bangladesh women’s team five per cent of their match fee for a slow over-rate in this match, Hiru News reported.

The side was found to be one over short of the target inside the allotted time. Bangladesh pleaded guilty to the charge, so no formal hearing was required.

The sanction has no bearing on the result or on Group B standings.

Not reported

Hiru did not name Sri Lanka’s other wicket-takers, give the toss result, or identify which team Sri Lanka will meet in the semi-final — Group A had not been decided at the time of writing. No venue or start time was given for Friday’s match.

Sources