Sri Lanka registered a thrilling last-over win over Pakistan in the second semi-final of the women’s Asia Cup. Chamari Athapaththu, the Sri Lanka skipper played a crucial role, registering a well-crafted half-century as the hosts chased down 141 with just one ball to spare to set up a final against India.

Batting first Pakistani openers laid an ideal platform. They ensured that the powerplay belonged to them scoring 45 for no loss. Gull Feroza found the boundary thrice in the third over to get the Pakistan innings rolling and Muneeba Ali hit consecutive boundaries off Athapaththu in the following over.

Sri Lankan bowlers hit back well in the next phase of the game as they managed to scalp 4 wickets during the middle overs. Udeshika Prabodhani dismissed both the well-set openers in the same over and was accompanied well by Kavisha Dilhari who struck twice as well.

The pendulum once again swung in Pakistan’s favor as Fatima Sana and Aliya Riaz joined forces and scored some quick runs in the last four overs. Fatima found the boundary thrice in the final few overs whereas Aliya cleared the ropes once to ensure Pakistan posted a fighting 140 on the board.

Chasing a par total Sri Lanka did not have the best of the starts. They were pegged back very early in the run chase as Vishmi Gunaratne was trapped lbw for a duck in the opening over. Harshitha Madavi was also sent packing cheaply. The onus was once again in the hands of Chamari Athapaththu, Sri Lanka’s most experienced batter and she stood up to the occasion scoring boundaries at regular intervals. She reached her half-century in the 15th over and it felt like Sri Lanka would fetch a comfortable win.

The equation was down to 35 of 30 as Athapaththu smashed Sandhu for a six-over deep mid-wicket. With 26 required in 4 overs, it was Sadia Iqbal who brought the game to life dismissing Athapaththu for 63. The skipper missed an attempt to reverse sweep and got bowled and in the following over there was a run out that gave Pakistan yet another lifeline.

However, under pressure in the penultimate over, Sugandika Kumari struck a couple of crucial boundaries to make it 3 off 6. Nida Dar did her best to drag it until the end by kickstarting the final over with a dot ball followed by a wicket but Sri Lanka managed to get the job done on the second last ball.

Brief scores: Pakistan 140/4 in 20 overs (Muneeba Ali 37, Udeshika Prabodhani 2/23) lost to Sri Lanka 141/7 in 19.5 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 63; Sadia Iqbal 4/16) by 3 wickets