22/10/2025
COLOMBO (News 1st): Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu delivered a brilliant final over, taking three wickets to help Sri Lanka defeat Bangladesh by seven runs in a low-scoring thriller at the 21st Match of the ICC Women's World Cup 2025, held yesterday, in Navi Mumbai, India.
After being bowled out for just 202 in 48.5 overs, Sri Lanka were under pressure for much of the reply innings.
However, despite strong efforts from Bangladesh's Nigar Sultana (77) and Sharmin Akhter (64 retired hurt), they couldn't cross the finish line.
With nine runs needed in the last over, Bangladesh fell short, managing just one run as Athapaththu kept her cool and sealed the win.
Athapaththu starred with the ball, taking four wickets for 42 runs in a brilliant spell.
Remarkably, three of those wickets came in the final over, where she conceded only one run, sealing a thrilling win for Sri Lanka.
The result pushed Bangladesh down to seventh place, ending their semifinal hopes.
Sri Lanka climbed to sixth with four points, the same as India (fourth) and New Zealand (fifth), with only net run rate separating the three teams.
During the innings, Chamari Athapaththu also surpassed 4,000 runs in One-Day Internationals (ODIs), becoming the first Sri Lankan woman to reach this milestone and the fourth Asian woman overall to do so.
This was Sri Lanka's first win of the tournament after enduring three losses and two washouts.
However, Sri Lanka has only one match remaining, against Pakistan on 24 October at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, while both India and New Zealand have two matches left, giving them a better chance to claim the final semifinal spot.
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