Venue : Junction Oval, Melbourne
Match : Bangladesh Women won the toss and opt to bat
Captain’s speech
Chamari Athapaththu | Sri Lanka Women : We wanted to bowl first, I’m confident about the bowling. We have made two changes as well. This is a big game for us, we want a win before going back home.
Salma Khatun | Bangladesh Women : We will bat first. The wicket looks good. Two changes for us. We want to finish with a win.
Squad
Sri Lanka Women (Playing XI): Chamari Athapaththu(c), Umesha Thimashini, Hasini Perera, Harshitha Madavi, Anushka Sanjeewani(w), Shashikala Siriwardene, Nilakshi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Sugandika Kumari, Udeshika Prabodhani, Achini Kulasuriya
Bangladesh Women (Playing XI): Murshida Khatun, Ayasha Rahman, Sanjida Islam, Nigar Sultana(w), Fargana Hoque, Rumana Ahmed, Ritu Moni, Fahima Khatun, Salma Khatun(c), Panna Ghosh, Nahida Akter
Bangladesh Batting
Failed openers
Murshida Khatun and Ayasha Rahman gets in the crease, Murshida Khatun is on strike. Prabodhani opens the attack against. Bangladesh is in keen to finish their T20I World cup tour with a win in their last match as it would be their first win in the tournament. In the first over Siriwardene uproots Murshida Khatun with a scoring 3 from seven balls.
Achini Kulasuriya picks two wicket in a over
Sanjida Islam gets in pair with Ayasha Rahman this duo scored 11 runs in the 4th over and starts strike in a controlled form. But soon Achini Kulasuriya breaks their partnership by uprooting Sanjida Islam for 13 runs from 12 balls. In the same over Ayasha Rahman lose her wicket for 6 runs. At the end of power play Bangladesh scored 26 runs for three wicket loss.
Fargana Hoque and Nigar Sultana paired and in pressure to move Bangladesh to a descent score. This duo builds 31 runs partnership and survived till 11 overs where Bangladesh scored 56 runs. In the last ball of the 11th over Kavisha Dilhari dismissed Fargana Hoque where she undertaken a review and failed in it and return pavilion.
Bangladesh fold-up for less than 100
In the next over Siriwardene dismissed Rumana Ahmed for golden duck. After 15 overs Bangladesh scored 64 runs for five wickets lose. Without some big shots Bangladesh would end up within 100 runs. Ritu Moni and Nigar Sultana stands in ground and put their efforts to drag Bangladesh to a descent score.
Bangladesh gets broken after Siriwardene took couple of wickets in 18th over. Siriwardene uproots Ritu Moni for 8 runs and Fahima Khatun for 1 runs in her last over and picks four wicket in total. Bangladesh ends up with scoring 91 runs for eight wicket loss for 20 overs.
Sri Lanka batting
Perfect opening
Same as Bangladesh Sri Lanka too fight to register their first win in this World cup tournament. With a target of 92 runs Hasini Perera and Athapaththu gets in the crease, Hasini Perera is on strike. Salma Khatun opens the attack against Sri Lanka. Bangladesh’s fielding messed as they drop two catches for each openers of Sri Lanka.
This duo starts striking big shots with boundaries and sixes without any pressure as the run rate required is less than 5 per over. At the end of power play Sri Lanka scored 35 runs without any wicket loss. At the end of 8th over Nahida Akter dismissed Athapaththu for 30 runs from 22 balls. An impressive strike comes to an end, that leaves a strong foundation for Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka’s first in their last match
A the end of 10 overs Sri Lanka scored 52 runs for a wicket loss and just 40 runs away from the victory. Anushka Sanjeewani paired with Hasini Perera without any hurry this duo dragged Sri Lanka towards a win 9 wickets remaining and registered their first win in their last match.
Shashikala Siriwardena in her last match
After 17 year of serving to the Mother land Shashikala Siriwardena walk off the field one final time, there were hugs, applause and tears from her Sri Lankan teammates. Hope she will be a part of future development of Sri Lanka and Global Women’s Cricket empowerment
They call her ‘legend’ and ‘big sister’.
So when it was time for Shashikala Siriwardena to walk off the field one final time, there were hugs, applause and tears from her Sri Lankan teammates 👏😢 #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/QVhePoECG9
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) March 2, 2020
Player of the match
Shashikala Siriwardene (Sri Lanka)
Bowling : 4 wickets for 16 runs in four overs
Shashikala Siriwardene : It is not easy to go away after playing 17 years of international cricket. Never easy for a sportsperson. I played long and hence, it’s tough. I love my teammates, it’s due to them that I was able to come back despite getting injured several times. Love you all. I’ll keep in touch with women’s cricket. It’s a long list. Started playing since I was 9 and it’s not possible to take all the names. Big thanks to my father, he isn’t with me. He is no more but it’s due to him that I was able to be what I am. My entire career is dedicated to him. Also thanks to my family, husband who supported me to play after marriage. Thanks to the clubs I played for. My coaches, teammates, support staff, sponsors, SL media, our fans. All the captains I played under, including current captain Chamari Athapaththu. I wish all the best to our team.
Captain’s view
Athapaththu | Sri Lanka Women’s skipper: It was a really good performance. We batted, bowled and fielded really well. She (Siriwardene) is a legend in Sri Lankan cricket. She is a big sister for us in Sri Lankan cricket. I’ll miss her, we’ll all miss her. She has retired as a champion. I wish her all the best for her future.
Salma Khatun | Bangladesh Women’s skipper: We batted really badly today and the fielding was also quite poor. We have the talent in the side but aren’t able to translate it into performances. Despite losing all the games, we did enjoy our time in the tournament.
