India led by skipper Niki Prasad thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan led by skipper Zoofishan Ayyaz by 9 wickets in the 2nd match of the U19 Women’s T20 Asia Cup at Kuala Lumpur. The Manudi Nanayakkara-led Sri Lanka, were up against Bangladesh led by skipper Sumaiya Akter in the 3rd match of the tournament. Courtesy of the intervention of the rain gods, the game was eventually reduced to a 17-overs-per-side contest.
Rashmika Sewwandi’s four-wicket haul rattles Bangladesh
Pacer Rashmika Sewwandi got Sri Lanka off to a good start by removing the wicket-keeper batter Juairiya Ferdous on the 2nd ball of the innings after skipper Manudi Nanayakkara won the toss and opted to field first. Sumaiya Akter Suborna joined Mosammat Eva at the crease and the duo displayed positive intent to lead some sort of recovery, taking their side closer to the 50-run mark with a 44-run 2nd wicket partnership. Hiruni Hansika broke the partnership by sending the opening batter Mosammat Eva back to the pavilion soon after the conclusion of the powerplay.
Bangladesh suffered a mini collapse as they lost their next three wickets, including the wicket of their skipper Sumaiya Akter in a space of just 17 runs. Sadia Akter partnered with Afia Ashima at the crease and the duo took their side past the 100-run mark with a 49-run 6th wicket partnership. Rashmika Sewwandi returned and picked up the wicket of Sadia Akter to provide the 6th breakthrough for her side. Bangladesh eventually ended up with a decent total of 122/9 in their quota of 17 overs.
Sadia Akter (31 off 25 balls), Afia Ashima (25 off 23 balls), Sumaiya Akter Suborna (24 off 21 balls), and Mosammat Eva (18 off 19 balls) were the only batters to get into the double digits, contributing for a major chunk (80%) of the team’s total. Rashmika Sewwandi (3-0-23-4), Aseni Thalagune (4-0-20-2), and Pramudi Methsara (2-0-11-2) were the star performers with the ball for Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh’s spinners lead the team to a comfortable victory
Chasing a decent total of 123, Sri Lanka needed to keep their calm and form decent partnerships to get over the line. However, that wasn’t the case as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and as a result, failed to find any momentum throughout the run chase. The Lankans were eventually restricted to 94/8, falling 28 runs short of the target. Sanjana Kavindi (21 off 13 balls), Rashmika Sewwandi (20 off 23 balls), Limansa Thilakarathna (16 off 16 balls), and wicket-keeper batter Sumudu Nisansala (15 off 20 balls) were the positives with the bat for Sri Lanka.
Skipper Sumaiya Akter (2-0-12-3), Farjana Easmin (3-0-12-2), Nishita Akter Nishi (4-0-16-2), and Anisa Akter Soba (4-0-19-0) were the star performers with the ball for Bangladesh.
Nishita Akter Nishi was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant spell of 4-0-16-2 with the ball for Bangladesh.
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