Sri Lanka and Bangladesh confirmed their spots in the semifinals of Women’s Asia Cup 2024 after beating Thailand and Malaysia respectively on Wednesday.
Host nation defeated Thailand comfortably by 10 wickets, chasing a 94-run target while Bangladesh beat Malaysia by a margin of 114 runs. Both matches were played at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla.
In the day game, Murshida Khatun (80 off 59) and Nigar Sultana (62* off 37) starred for Bangladesh and helped the team score 191/2 in the first innings after opting to bat.
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In reply, Malaysia found itself nowhere near the target as a combined effort by Bangladeshi bowlers restricted it to 77/8. Elsa Hunter top scored with 20 off 23 balls.
Later in the day, Thailand needed a massive win over Sri Lanka to give itself an outside chance of qualifying for the top four. It started well as it won the toss and opted to bat.
However, Sri Lankan bowlers were right on the money from ball one and restricted Malaysia to a paltry total of 93/7. N Koncharoenkai was the lone scorer as she remained unbeaten on 47 in 53 balls.
Openers Chamari Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne then eased past the opposition bowlers as they helped Sri Lanka finish chase in 11.3 overs. Athapaththu remained unbeaten on 49 while Gunaratne was 39 not out.
Bangladesh will now face India in the first semifinal on July 26 and Sri Lanka will take on Pakistan in the second semifinal later that day. Both matches will be played in Dambulla.
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