Sri Lanka 114 for 3 (Gunaratne 51, Samarawickrama 33, Nahida 3-12) beat Bangladesh 111 for 8 (Nigar 48*, Shorna 25, Priyadharshani 2-17, Prabodhani 2-20) by seven wickets
(Web Desk) – Hosts Sri Lanka started their campaign in the Women's T20 Asia Cup on a positive note, beating Bangladesh by seven wickets in Dambulla on Saturday.
After restricting Bangladesh to a modest 111 for eight, Sri Lanka raced to their target with 17 balls to spare.
Opting to bat first, Bangladesh were off to a disastrous start and lost three wickets with just six runs on the board. It soon became 17/4, and then 48/5, before skipper Nigar Sultana steadied the sinking ship with a 48-run knock that came off 59 balls and included six boundaries.
Udeshika Prabodhani (2/20) and Inoshi Priyadharshani (2/17) led the Bangladeshi rout, while Sugandika Kumari, Kavisha Dilhari and Chamari Athapaththu grabbed one wicket apiece.
Sri Lanka were led to victory by opener Vishmi Gunaratne with 51 off 48 balls, hitting seven fours and a six. Harshitha Samarawickrama chipped in with 33 off 31 balls and got out with her team on the doorstep of victory.
Nahida Akter was the best bowler for Bangladesh, finishing with figures of 3/12 in her quota of four overs.
THAILAND DEFEAT MALAYSIA
Earlier, Thailand got the better of Malaysia by 22 runs in the first match of the day.
Batting first, Thailand posted 133 for six after wicketkeeper Nannapat Koncharoenkai top-scored with a 35-ball 40, while Phannita Maya chipped in with 29 off 28 deliveries.
Mahirah Izzati Ismail was the most successful bowler for Malaysia, returning excellent figures of 3/16 in four overs.
Mahirah's effort, however, went in vain as Thailand restricted their opponents to 111 for eight in the allotted 20 overs, despite a half century from opener Wan Julia (52 off 53 balls).
Captain Winifred Duraisingam made 22 in 28 balls at the top of the order while being associated in a 68-run first-wicket partnership with Julia.
The Malaysian batting, however, collapsed after that as Thailand produced a disciplined show with the ball to emerge victorious.