Sri Lanka stunned India by eight wickets to win their first-ever Women’s Asia Cup 2024 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.
Batting first after winning the toss, Smriti Mandhana (60) and Richa Ghosh (30) fired as India posted 165 for 6 against Sri Lanka.
Mandhana dropped anchor to make 60 from 47 balls (10 fours) as she led a resolute fight for India.
India had raced to 44 for no loss at the end of powerplay but Sri Lanka bowlers, led by Kavisha Dilhari (2/36), put up a strong fight.
Towards the end, Ghosh’s vital 30 off 14 balls with four fours and a six took India past the 150-run mark.
However, a tremendous chase led by Chamari Athapaththu, Harshita Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari propelled Sri Lanka to the title in the 19th over.
Sri Lanka found themselves in a spot of bother when Athapaththu fell for 61 at the end of the 12th over. However, Harshita, who had dropped two catches on the field, redeemed herself with a terrific counter-attacking half-century. Aided by Dilhari’s lusty hits, the duo led the side home amidst a packed Dambulla crowd.
Harshita remained unbeaten at 50-ball 69 which included two sixes and six fours. Dilhari remained not out at 16-ball 30.
Match Summary
India: 165 for 6 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 60, Richa Ghosh 30; Kavisha Dilhari 2/36) Sri Lanka: 166 for 2 in 19 overs (Harshita Samarawickrama 69*, Chamari Athapaththu 61; Renuka Thakur Singh 1/30)
Playing XIs
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shefali Verma, Uma Chetry, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Tanuja Kanwar, Renuka Thakur Singh.
Sri Lanka: Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu(c), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani(w), Hasini Perera, Sugandika Kumari, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Udeshika Prabodhani, Sachini Nisansala.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ