Bangladesh’s World Cup dreams were extinguished with the most exciting match against Sri Lanka. The team lost the encounter by seven runs, and it was a must-win clash where they fell short.
The Sri Lankan win was largely due to Skipper Athapaththu, who shone during the very last over of the match. Athapaththu’s big-time performance not only guaranteed the win for Sri Lanka but also closed the door on Bangladesh’s hopes of reaching the semifinals.
The match was a thriller up to the end, with both teams playing at their best. Nevertheless, it was Sri Lanka’s knack for seizing key moments that was the game-changer.
Bangladesh’s loss means that their run in the Women’s World Cup 2025 is over. The team, however, can consider that their fight throughout the tournament has been a source of pride despite the setback.
Sri Lanka’s semi-final hopes alive
In a thrilling match, Bangladesh’s World Cup journey suffered a massive blow when they lost to Sri Lanka by just seven runs. The Bangladesh team, which had seemingly been dominating the game, eventually fell short. Sri Lanka’s innings of 203 was made possible by the foundation of 72 runs laid down by Chamari Athapaththu and Hasini Perera. The Bangladeshic middle-order fell apart, but Perera’s 85 and Nilakshi de Silva’s 37 aided Sri Lanka’s recovery.
Initially, Bangladesh’s batting line-up was shaky, but later they were able to compensate for it with an 82-run collaboration between Sharmin Akter and captain Nigar Sultana. The withdrawal of Akter owing to cramps interrupted the flow of the game, and Sultana found it hard to get support from the other side. Despite all her effort, the required run rate of Bangladesh kept rising and the stress became more intense.
Bangladesh had to face their defeat, ending their semi-final dreams, while Sri Lanka still had a slim chance for the semi-final. However, they would not like to remember the match only for the reasons they really did not control, like absence of up-to-par catching, misfields, and poor running between the wickets. They would like to remember it as a turning point match for almost everything that happened later.
As the last moments of the game started to slip away, Athapaththu made her own decision and took the ball for the last over, making the bowlers think twice about her and interfering with their plans. She made three wickets and caused one dismissal at the same time, with the last minute involving the overthrow of Sultana being the turning point. The batsmen from Bangladesh just could not cope with the situation and lost the game by seven runs.
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