Sri Lanka’s women have reached the gold medal match of the Asian Games, beating Pakistan by eight wickets in the first semi-final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan, on Sunday.
Captain Chamari Athapaththu finished unbeaten on 83 from 50 balls, with seven fours and six sixes, in a chase Sri Lanka completed with 13 balls to spare.
Both teams set a record in the same match
Pakistan, sent in, made 177 for 4 — their highest-ever T20I total against Sri Lanka, ESPNcricinfo reported. It was not enough.
Sri Lanka’s reply equalled their highest total in a successful chase in women’s T20 internationals. ThePapare describes it as their highest successful run-chase; ESPNcricinfo says they equalled the mark. The more precise wording is ESPNcricinfo’s.
A dropped catch on the rope decided it
Athapaththu began slowly, and could afford to. Opening partner Imesha Dulani hit five fours in the first four overs before falling for a 21-ball 27. At that point Athapaththu had 4 off 9. By the end of the powerplay she had moved to 7 off 12 without a boundary.
The innings turned in a 20-run eighth over off Momina Riasat, which Athapaththu took for 6, 4, 6, 4. The second of those sixes was fortunate: Fatima Sana caught it at deep midwicket, then stepped on the rope while tossing the ball back into play. A clean catch would have ended Athapaththu’s innings on 18 off 19 balls.
She then took two fours and a six off left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu in the 10th over, cutting the requirement to 90 off 60.
Hasini Perera, at No. 3, matched her — hitting Tuba Hassan for two sixes and a four in the 13th over. Perera fell at the end of the 14th for a 26-ball 42, having added 95 with Athapaththu in 56 balls. With 47 needed off 36, Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama took just 23 balls to finish it.
Pakistan’s innings
Ayesha Zafar, in at No. 4, top-scored with 71 off 40 including nine fours and two sixes. Shawaal Zulfiqar made her second T20I half-century, but her 54 took 50 balls.
The pair put on 115 for the third wicket in 70 balls — though the scoring was lopsided, with Zulfiqar contributing only 37 off 30 of it. Pakistan’s opener Gull Feroza was dismissed on the first ball of the match. ESPNcricinfo notes Pakistan “may have ended their innings feeling they had left a few runs out in the middle.”
Two corrections to the figures in circulation
The final score was 181 for 2, not 178 for 2. Both the Daily Mirror and ThePapare give Sri Lanka’s total as 178 for 2 — which is the target, not the score. ESPNcricinfo’s scorecard has 181 for 2, consistent with the winning shot being a boundary struck with the scores one run short.
Hasini Perera was dismissed. The Daily Mirror lists her as 42 not out. ESPNcricinfo records her falling at the end of the 14th over, which is also the only reading consistent with a two-wicket scorecard in which Athapaththu is the not-out batter alongside Samarawickrama.
The final is on Tuesday
Sri Lanka play the gold medal match on 22 September. Their opponents had not been decided at the time of these reports: the second semi-final, India against Bangladesh, was played later the same day at the same ground, with India batting first after winning the toss. Pakistan go to the bronze medal playoff.
Sri Lanka reached the semi-finals by beating Malaysia by 86 runs in the quarter-final on Friday, having entered the tournament with direct entry to the last eight. Athapaththu has now made significant scores in both matches — 63 off 37 against Malaysia, and 83 not out here.
A caution on searching this fixture
Sri Lanka also beat Pakistan in a Women’s T20 Asia Cup semi-final earlier this month and went on to face India in that final, losing it. That is a different tournament with a near-identical storyline, and reports of it — including a three-wicket win chasing 141, with Athapaththu making 63 off 48 — are not this match.
Not reported
None of the three reports gives Sri Lanka’s bowling figures, the wicket-takers, or Pakistan’s full batting card. None says what Sri Lanka’s previous highest successful chase was, or when it was set — the figure this innings equalled.
No report addresses whether Sri Lanka’s squad is fully fit for Tuesday, or gives the start time of the final.
