Sri Lanka booked their place in the Women’s Asia Cup semi-finals after edging past Bangladesh in a tense, low-scoring contest in Dubai on Saturday. Chasing a modest target of 115, the defending champions stumbled to 115 for 6 before Harshitha Samarawickrama’s unbeaten 48 off 37 balls carried them home by four wickets, extending Sri Lanka’s unbeaten run against Bangladesh to seven matches. Having topped Group B, Sri Lanka will now face the Group A runner-up on Friday.
Praboda restricts Bangladesh’s total
Bangladesh were held to 114 for 8 after a disciplined bowling display led by 17-year-old left-arm spinner Chamudi Praboda, who returned career-best figures of 3 for 21. Playing only her sixth international match since debuting last month against Pakistan, Praboda struck early to remove the aggressive Dilara Akter, who had made 26 off as many balls after starting briskly with three consecutive boundaries against Sri Lanka’s pace attack.
A 41-run stand between Sobhana Mostary (34) and Shorna Akter (9) had threatened to lift Bangladesh toward a more competitive total in the closing overs, but Praboda dismantled the partnership in her final over, stumping Mostary with flight before drawing Dilara into an easy catch off a slower ball. Sri Lanka’s spin unit as a whole bowled with notable control throughout the innings, giving Bangladesh little room to accelerate.
Chamari Athapaththu had a mixed outing with the ball, seeing two catchable chances off her bowling put down by fielders, though she did claim a wicket late in her spell. A contentious caught-behind appeal in her final over was turned down by the on-field umpire.
Marufa fights back with the ball
In reply, Bangladesh seamer Marufa Akter threatened to derail the chase with an incisive opening burst of 2 for 17, dismissing both Sri Lankan openers inside the powerplay — including a delivery that castled Imesha Dulani. Athapaththu’s own innings lasted just two balls before she was caught advancing down the pitch.
Sri Lanka slipped to 44 for 5 inside ten overs before a 38-run partnership between Samarawickrama and Nilakshika Silva steadied the innings. Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana turned back to Marufa in the 17th over, and the seamer responded by removing Silva while conceding just four runs, finishing with figures of 3 for 21 — her fourth three-wicket haul in a 48-match T20I career.
Samarawickrama closes it out
With the equation tightening, Samarawickrama took 16 runs off an over from Ritu Moni, including a boundary off an inside edge and a straight six, before dispatching Nahida Akter over long-on to leave just two runs required from the final over. She sealed the win with a deflection off her pad that ran away for the winning runs, completing a composed and match-defining innings under pressure.
