Sri Lanka vs Pakistan Women’s Asia Cup: Hosts Knocked Out

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan – (Staff Reporter/Web Desk) – Sri Lanka vs Pakistan Women’s Asia Cup turned into one of the most gripping contests of the tournament, with both sides fighting hard for a spot in Sunday’s final. In the end, Sri Lanka came out on top, beating Pakistan by four wickets in a tense second semi-final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The chase did not start well for Sri Lanka. Set a target of 131 runs, the team lost four wickets for just 33 runs inside the first seven overs. For a while, it looked like Pakistan might have the upper hand.

Then came the turning point. Harshitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari joined forces and slowly rebuilt the innings. Their partnership added 67 runs for the fifth wicket and pushed Sri Lanka past 100 by the sixteenth over.

Samarawickrama was the standout batter of the innings, scoring 36 runs off 31 balls. Dilhari played her part too, making 33 runs from 33 deliveries. Both batters were eventually removed by Pakistan’s captain Fatima Sana in the same over, leaving the game finely balanced once again.

With the score at 109 for six, Sri Lanka still needed a calm finish. That is exactly what they got from Nilakshika Silva and Kaushini Nuthyangana. The pair came together and shared an unbeaten stand of 34 runs off just 10 balls, taking the match away from Pakistan in the closing stages.

Silva finished the game unbeaten on 18 runs from 10 balls, while Nuthyangana stayed not out on 10 runs from only four deliveries. Sri Lanka completed the chase with eight balls to spare, sparking wild celebrations in the dugout.

Fatima Sana was easily Pakistan’s best bowler on the day, taking four wickets for 38 runs. Sadia Iqbal and Umm-e-Hani picked up one wicket each, but the damage from the middle order was too much to recover from.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan had chosen to bat first and put up a total of 130 for five in their 20 overs. Opener Muneeba Ali did not last long, falling for just two runs early on.

Shawaal Zulfiqar tried to change the pace of the innings with a quick 24 runs off 16 balls, hitting two sixes along the way. After her dismissal, Gull Feroza took charge and played a steady hand, scoring 21 runs from 32 balls while forming small partnerships with Ayesha Zafar and Sadaf Shamas.

The most important stand of the innings came between Feroza and captain Fatima Sana. The two added 40 runs for the fifth wicket before Feroza was dismissed in the sixteenth over, having done the hard work of holding the innings together.

From there, Fatima Sana took over completely. She finished the innings unbeaten on 47 runs off just 36 balls, striking four boundaries and two sixes. Tuba Hassan gave her good support at the other end, remaining unbeaten on 12 runs from 10 balls.

On the bowling side for Sri Lanka, Chamudi Praboda and Chamari Athapaththu each took two wickets, while Sugandika Kumari chipped in with one. Their combined effort kept Pakistan’s total within a chaseable range.

With this victory, Sri Lanka have earned their place in the final of the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2026. They will now take on India on Sunday in what is expected to be another closely contested final. For Pakistan, despite Fatima Sana’s brilliant all-round performance, the semi-final exit will be a hard result to take, especially after such a promising batting effort in the first innings.

Fans from both sides will now turn their attention to the summit clash, where Sri Lanka will look to carry their momentum into a high-pressure final against a strong Indian side.