India had already reached the semi-finals after a one-sided seven-wicket win over Pakistan and now Sri Lanka has also joined them
Published: September 7, 2026, 8:30 AM IST
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Sri Lanka Vs Bangladesh(Credits: X)
Harshitha Samarawickrama held her nerve as Sri Lanka came back from a difficult position to beat Bangladesh by four wickets and book their place in the semi-finals of the Women’s Asia Cup in Dubai.
Chasing 115, Sri Lanka were in trouble at 44/5 before Harshitha took control of the inningsThe left-hander finished unbeaten on 48 and helped her team reach the target with four balls to spareHer innings started with caution, but she changed gears when Sri Lanka needed quick runs.
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Bangladesh had made a steady start after being asked to bat firstJuairiya Ferdous and Dilara Akter put on runs in the opening overs, but Sri Lanka kept taking wickets at regular intervalsDilara scored 25 before being dismissed by Chamudi Praboda, while Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana Joty fell for four.
Sobhana Mostary was the main contributor with the bat, scoring 34 to take Bangladesh close to the 100-run markPraboda then removed Mostary and Shorna Akter to finish with figures of 3/21Bangladesh ended their innings on 114, with Sri Lanka’s spinners keeping the scoring under control in the final overs.
Sri Lanka’s chase began badlyBangladesh fast bowler Marufa Akter dismissed Chamari Athapaththu for one and then removed Imesha Dulani for 12Sanjana Kavindi, Vishmi Gunaratne and Kavisha Dilhari also fell as Sri Lanka slipped further.
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Harshitha found support from Nilakshika Silva, who scored 18The pair steadied the innings, but Nilakshika was dismissed with Sri Lanka needing 33 runs from the final four overs.
That left Harshitha with most of the responsibilityShe hit a four and a six off Ritu Moni in the 18th over before taking 11 runs from the 19th, including a six off the final ballThe finish left Sri Lanka needing only a few runs in the last over, and they completed the chase without further trouble.
The victory gave Sri Lanka a perfect group-stage recordThe defending champions had earlier defeated Bangladesh, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates before beating Bangladesh again to secure their semi-final placeSri Lanka also entered the tournament as the reigning champions after defeating India in the 2024 final.
India had already reached the semi-finals after a one-sided seven-wicket win over PakistanPakistan were bowled out for just 55, with Shree Charani and Prema Rawat taking three wickets eachIndia chased down the target in 8.4 overs, with Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma finishing the game unbeaten.
