[WATCH] Sri Lanka Women come up with hilarious dance moves after reaching Women’s Asia Cup final
Sri Lanka Women beat Pakistan Women by one run in the semi-finals of Women’s Asia Cup in Sylhet on Thursday (October 13). The winners came up with hilarious dance moves after thumping Pakistan in a last-ball thriller.
Opting to bat, Sri Lanka posted 122/6 in 20 overs. Harshitha Samarawickrama top-scored with 35 runs, while Anushka Sanjeewani contributed 26.
Nashra Sandhu picked up three wickets for Pakistan, while Aiman Anwer, Nida Dar and Sadia Iqbal scalped one wicket each.
Take a look at how Sri Lanka Women celebrated their victory over Pakistan Women:
#ApeKello celebrating in style 💃
Sri Lanka qualified for the finals of the Women’s #AsiaCup2022 after winning against Pakistan by 1 run. https://t.co/WXHkGcQJdd
In reply, Pakistan failed to reach the target and lost the nail-biter by one run. Skipper Bismah Maroof scored 42 off 41, while Nida contributed run-a-ball 26.
Achini Kulasuriya kept her nerves as she defended nine runs for Sri Lanka Women in the 20th over. Inoka Ranaweera shone for the Islanders with figures of 2/17, while Sugandika Kumari and Kavisha Dilhari bagged one wicket each.
Sri Lanka Women reach Women’s Asia Cup final after 14 years
Sri Lanka Women have finally reached the Women’s Asia Cup final after 14 years. They have reached the finale stage on four occasions but ended up as runners-up as they lost to India Women on all occasions.
The two teams had earlier faced each other in the group stage on Saturday (October 1), where India beat Sri Lanka by 41 runs.
Captain Chamari Athapaththu expressed her delight as Sri Lanka reached the final after a long hiatus.
Speaking on Star Sports after the match, she said:
“After 14 years, we are in the Asia Cup final. That's good for us.“
📸 Snapshots from the #SLvPAK semi-final.
Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 1 run to enter the finals of Women's #AsiaCup2022 🔥
#ApeKello https://t.co/g1IpkP3JgM
Athapaththu continued:
“Lots of pressure, but we stuck by the bowlers. I always thought that my bowlers could do a good job. We changed the batting order to change a few things.”
She added:
“First six overs, they batted well, openers did well, but we stuck to our plans. We knew that after six overs, it isn't easy to hit boundaries, so just stuck to our plans. Kavisha is a fighter, she handles pressure well. Dropped the catch but got the run out which was important.”
The Islanders will be keen to change the stats in their favor when they face Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. on Saturday (October 15). The side could bring double joy to the nation, after Sri Lanka men’s cricket team clinched the Asia Cup 2022 title as well.