Sri Lanka 129 for 3 (Harshitha 69*, Marufa 3-23) beat Bangladesh 126 for 8 (Mostary 29, Ranasinghe 3-23, Athapaththu 2-19) by seven wickets
Harshitha’s magic
In the powerplay, she faced only 13 balls, but her effect on this match soon became clear. Where Athapaththu took it upon herself to raise the run rate, Harshitha’s job was to man watch the wickets column.
She did just that. At the end of the powerplay, she was 8 off 9 balls. By the halfway stage she was 22 off 22.
The two put on a partnership worth 124 – de Silva making 41 of those runs. She had made a serious contribution too.
Marufa’s burst
If there’s any Bangladesh player who should feel aggrieved at a comfortable Sri Lanka win, it’s Marufa. After her first two overs, Bangladesh may in fact have had huge hopes of defending their modest total. She moved two balls away from Sri Lanka’s star batter Athapaththu, before bringing one back in at the left-hander and having her caught at mid-on – a classic dismissal.
Next over, she took two Sri Lanka wickets in two balls, and helped push the battle towards her side. In the end, she finished with 3 for 23 from her four overs.
Sri Lanka’s spinners leash the opposition
By this stage, it should be clear to opponents that some pitches are merely playing to type. But perhaps this was just good bowling.
Bangladesh reached 48 for 2 after six overs, and as such, could have been primed to get past 150. Instead the Sri Lanka spinners began to choke them. Athapaththu was chief among the chokers, seeking out remorse before these women were let free.
Sri Lanka’s spinners leash the oppostion
By this stage, it should be clear to oppsitions that some pitches are merely playing to type. But perhaps this was just good bowling.
