Asian Games: Sri Lanka in race for gold after 6-wicket victory over Pakistan

Sri Lanka women's cricket team clinched a convincing six-wicket victory over Pakistan women in the 19th Asian Games semi-final held at the Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field in Hangzhou, China, on Sunday.

Pakistan, having previously secured gold in the 2010 and 2014 editions, will now face Bangladesh in the bronze medal match at the same venue tomorrow, slated to begin at 09:00 local time.

Simultaneously, Sri Lanka and India will vie for the coveted gold medal in a highly-anticipated match also scheduled for tomorrow at 14:00 local time.

After being put into bat, Pakistan managed to score 75 for nine in 20 overs. Opening batter Shawaal Zulfiqar (16, 27b, 1x4), Muneeba Ali (13, 16b, 1x6) and Omaima Sohail (10, 17b, 1x6) were the only batters to enter double figures.

For Sri Lanka, Udeshika Prabodhani bagged three wickets for 21, while Kavisha Dilhari took two wickets.

In reply, Pakistan kept the Sri Lankan batters in check and dismissed four batters in process. Sri Lanka eventually achieved the target in the 17th over.

Harshitha Samarawickrama (23, 41b, 1x4) top-scored for the winning team.

For Pakistan, Diana Baig, Sadia Iqbal and Umm-e-Hani grabbed a wicket each.

Teams

Pakistan: Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Ameen, Omaima Sohail, Muneeba Ali, Nida Dar (c), Aliya Riaz, Nataila Pervaiz, Umm-e-Hani, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal

Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Anushka Sanjeewani, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Nilakshi de Silva, Udeshika Prabodhani, Achini Kulasuriya, Inoka Ranaweera, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Kavisha Dilhari, Hasini Perera