Sri Lanka won their first women’s Asia Cup by defeating India by 8 wickets in the match at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Sunday. After India had won the toss & elected to bat first, they put up 165/6 in 20 overs. Nevertheless, a phenomenal chase from Chamari Athapaththu Harshita Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari saw Srilanka winning the match in 19 overs.
After the 12th over, Athapaththu’s departure for 61 points led Sri Lanka to a difficult stage in their innings. However, Harshita who had dropped two catches in the field, made amends with an excellent counter-attacking half-century before she had reached her half-century. The duo relied heavily on Dilhari’s wild hits as they took the team to victory against a fully packed Dambulla audience.
Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss, and unchanged India opted to bat first against Sri Lanka in the final of the Women’s Asia Cup T20. On the other hand, Sri Lanka made one change in their XI. The stage is set for the Women’s Asia Cup final, and Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. will be looking to keep their winning streak alive when they face the hosts Sri Lanka.
Fans react as Sri Lanka defeated India in Women’s Asia Cup Final:
https://twitter.com/sahibzadapk/status/1817549527408144456?s=46
https://twitter.com/_faridkhan/status/1817542549071888736?s=46
https://twitter.com/rajiv1841/status/1817540972613366159?s=46
https://twitter.com/vikashj13660845/status/1817549578801205545?s=46
https://twitter.com/jatbhawara/status/1817549554918576567?s=46
https://twitter.com/hashim41659037/status/1817549549084238040?s=46
https://twitter.com/azzamameen/status/1817540966389289295?s=46
https://twitter.com/srilankatweet/status/1817543426499572110?s=46
https://twitter.com/criccrazyjohns/status/1817541406094967164?s=46
https://twitter.com/jayshah/status/1817548998015848688?s=46
Sri Lanka and India both remained unbeaten until the final
The main objective for India would be to bring home continental trophy again. The two teams however have remained unbeaten until now in this tournament and whoever relaxes its grip would find itself on the back foot at the end.
India has showcased a style of cricket that is aggressive throughout this tournament and has controlled the rival team in all respects. The top order is consistently firing while the middle order is also doing well for themselves with players such as Harmanpreet and Richa Ghosh demonstrating their muscular batting.
Based on the performance of Renuka Singh, who took three wickets in a row, alongside Smriti Mandhana’s fast and unbeaten fifty made clear India’s merciless show as in the semi-final against Bangladesh which ended at ten wickets.
Sri Lanka won the semi-final match against Pakistan by three wickets. The highest run-scorer in the tournament so far is Chamari Athapaththu, who scored 223 runs, and it was she who almost single-handedly took her team to their target of 141 with a brilliant knock of 63 from 48 balls that included nine fours and one six.
When it comes to WT20Is, India and Sri Lanka share a head-to-head record that indicates India is more successful. Out of the 24 games they played together, India emerged victorious in 19 while Sri Lanka had 4 wins and 1 loss which was said to have been a rainout. Deepti Sharma is the highest wicket-taker in this tournament with nine dismissals; Renuka has got seven after her.
There have been nine occasions when the teams that were chasing have won during competition. The highest score at this venue was India’s 201/5 against UAE. The pitch favours both medium pacers and spinners.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.