Sri Lanka made a stunning escape to seal their first win at the Women’s World Cup, beating Bangladesh by seven points in a last-over thriller in Navi Mumbai on Monday.
While Bangladesh were cruising, needing just nine from the final over with five wickets in hand, having collected just three runs from the penultimate over, skipper Chamari Athapaththu took the ball herself and turned the game on its head.
Four wickets fell in four balls as Bangladesh collapsed, losing five wickets for just two runs.
Calm amid the storm, Athapaththu finished with career-best marks of 4-42.
The drama started when Rabeya Khan got his leg trapped after the first ball, followed by a run-out on the next delivery.
Then Bangladesh’s hopes sank as their captain Nigar Sultana danced around the track and discovered they had been lying in wait for a long time.
When Marufa Akter was assessed next ball, Athapaththu had conjured the unthinkable by defending nine with a single run conceded in the over.
“We handled the pressure well. We knew teams could crumble if we played deep into the match,” Athapaththu said. “It wasn’t perfect, the batting collapse and the missed catches hurt us, but luck smiled on us today.”
For once, fortune was in Sri Lanka’s favor, whose campaign was marred by rain, missed opportunities and batting failures.
Hasini Perera, who hit her maiden ODI half-century, made 85 off 99 balls, peppered with 13 fours and a six.
She was the backbone of Sri Lanka’s 202 as she reached the milestone of 1,000 runs in ODIs.
A 74-run partnership with Nilakshika de Silva gave Sri Lanka a solid launching pad, before another collapse saw six wickets fall for 28 runs.
Still, the Sri Lankans held their nerve to seal the victory and climb to sixth place in the standings.
On four points they are level with New Zealand and India, although results will be needed to go in their favor to clinch the final spot in the semi-finals.
Australia, South Africa and England have already booked their places in the last four.
“We kept losing wickets at crucial times,” admitted Bangladeshi skipper Sultana, whose battles were in vain as her side were eliminated.
“I tried to take the pressure off with a boundary but it just didn’t work.”
