Women’s Asia Cup: Bowlers help Sri Lanka register comfortable 72-run win over Malaysia

Sylhet (Bangladesh): A clinical performance from the bowling department saw Sri Lanka register a comfortable 72-run win over Malaysia in the Women’s Asia Cup at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium Saturday.

After a disappointing batting performance saw them post 105/7 in 20 overs, Sri Lanka’s bowlers, led by pacer Malsha Shehani’s 4/2 in 1.5 overs, were virtually unplayable and bowled out Malaysia for just 33 in 9.5 overs.

Electing to bat first, Sri Lanka didn’t have a good start as they lost three wickets in the powerplay. Skipper Chamari Athapaththu (21) and all-rounder Nilakshi de Silva (21) steadied the innings after early troubles, but neither of the two were unable to convert their start into a big knock for Sri Lanka.

The crucial knock for Sri Lanka came from veteran Oshadi Ranasinghe, who kept the scoreboard ticking in the last five overs with 23 not out off just 18 balls, hitting two fours. Supported by a run-a-ball 14 from Malsha, Oshadi ensured Sri Lanka crossed the 100-run mark as last five overs of the Sri Lankan innings yielded 39 runs.

Malaysia had never chased down anything above 100 in their T20I history and were pushed on the backfoot in the third over when Sri Lanka picked three wickets, two of them picked by Sugandika Kumari apart from a run-out. Apart from Elsa Hunter, none of the Malaysian batter could get into double digits.

Malaysia could not recover from the triple strike and kept losing wickets at regular intervals throughout their innings. Oshadi had a scalps against her name while Inoka Ranaweera picked two and Malsha wrapped up the innings by taking out the tailenders quickly to bag a four-wicket haul, giving Sri Lanka a huge win.

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 105/7 in 20 overs (Oshadi Ranasinghe 23 not out, Nilakshi de Silva 21; Sasha Azmi 2/10, Ainna Hamizah Hasim 2/23) beat Malaysia 33 all out in 9.5 overs (Elsa Hunter 18; Malsha Shehani 4/2, Inoka Ranaweera 2/8) by 72 runs.