Match Details
Akter first caught and bowled Vishmi Gunaratne for 1(5), then cleaned up Anushka Sanjeewani on the very next ball with a peach of a delivery. Reeling at 25/3, Nilakshi de Silva joined forces with left-handed Harshitha Madavi and the duo forged a match-winning partnership of 104-run partnership. The duo bided their time at the crease and soaked up the pressure. Madavi played the leading figure in the partnership while Silva kept moving the scorecard steadily.
Earlier in the day, after electing to bat first, Bangladesh lost an early wicket of Murshida Khatun 0(1) as a consequence of a run-out. Unlike their opening encounter, the Sri Lankan spinners deviated from their route and went short and wide frequently inside the powerplay. Both Sobhana Mostary and Shamima Sultana were quick to respond and punched some boundaries early on. Their partnership was proving dodgy for the Lankans before Oshadi Ranasinghe dismissed Sultana for 20(13).
Mostary continued the swift approach and cruised Bangladesh to their highest powerplay score in the T20 World Cup, which was 48 with the loss of two wickets. Just when Bangladesh was heading toward a big score, Chamari Athapaththu got the wood over Mostary 29(32). Following that, the women in green crumbled like a pack of cards and gave away 5 wickets in quick succession. The Sri Lankan bowlers were equally good to dry up the boundaries and restrict them to a below-par total. Oshadi Ranasinghe was once again the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka and finished her stint on 3/23. The skipper Chamari Athapaththu also produced a couple of breakthroughs by leaking only 19 runs. Stick around for the post-match presentation!