Skipper Chamari Athapaththu's diligent fifty propelled Sri Lanka to a thrilling three-wicket win over Pakistan in the second semifinal of the women's Asia Cup in Dambulla, Sri Lanka on Friday, setting up the title clash against India.
In the first semifinal earlier, defending champions India had beaten Bangladesh by 10 wickets. The final will be played on Sunday. Athapaththu, who is the highest run-getter in the event with 223 runs, single-handedly guided the Lankans close to the target of 141, making a well-paced 63 off 48 balls (9x4, 1x6).
Her fifty and Anushka Sanjeevani's unbeaten 24 (22b, 1x4, 1x6) helped Lanka to reach 141 for 7 in 19.5 overs. Kalisha Dilhari (17, 18 balls) helped Athapaththu milk 61 runs for the third wicket that gave Lanka a firm hold on the match.
Pakistan stayed in the fight through a brilliant spell by experienced left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal (4/16 off 4 overs) but she did not have much support from the other end as the hosts stumbled across the line.
Earlier, Pakistan relied on handy knocks by Muneeba Ali (37), Gull Feroza (25), skipper Nida Dar (23) and Fatima Sana (23 not out) to make 140 for four. All of them got the starts but none of them converted it into a bigger score as Pakistan ended up with what eventually proved to be a total that was slightly below par.
Brief scores: Pakistan 140/4 in 20 overs (Muneeba Ali 37, Gull Feroza 25, Nida Dar 23, Fatima Sana 23 not out; Udeshika Prabodhani 2/23) lost to Sri Lanka 141/7 in 19.5 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 63, Anushka Sanjeevani 24 not out; Sadia Iqbal 4/16) by 3 wickets.
