Pakistan and Sri Lanka have an historic rivalry that dates back decades; their game at Sharjah won’t be any different. Sri Lanka will be led by Chamari Athapaththu with a formidable lineup consisting of Vishmi Gunaratne and Harshitha Samarawickrama in their ranks.
Nida Dar continues to bowl well and Kavisha Dilhari mistimes a lofted shot to be caught by Sidra Amin at long-on for three runs from this over.
Chamari Athapaththu
Chamari Athapaththu has proven her worth as more than just a cricketer; she’s also a remarkable leader. Her unflinching work ethic and strategic wit have elevated her status on both national and global stages, while strengthening Sri Lanka’s global standing.
She is an inspiration to women’s cricket in Sri Lanka and an example for young girls. Sri Lankan captain is truly humble and committed, always showing positive energy towards her team-mates – it’s no secret why she stands the best chance of leading Sri Lanka to victory at UAE tournament.
Athapaththu has been at the heart of Sri Lanka’s run chase despite their slow start, helping bring them closer to Pakistan with her slog sweep over deep midwicket fence and assisted by Nilakshi de Silva and Sachini Nisansala in producing boundary after boundary.
But an unsuccessful reverse sweep and Athapaththu’s exit in the next over saw them struggle to keep pace. Only after Sugandika Kumari hit two fours in the penultimate over did things look in balance again.
Gull Feroza
Gull Feroza played an essential part in Pakistan’s innings after they elected to bat, sharing an influential 61-run partnership with Muneeba Ali and providing both solid batting support as well as helpful bowling aid for Muneeba Ali in lower orders. Her batting contributed toward building up Pakistan’s foundation while her bowling provided important assistance during lower order innings.
She starts the innings by leaving two deliveries without scoring, before smashing a short ball over midwicket for six. Additionally, she completed her over with an off-break single that kept Pakistan on course towards a big total score.
Sugandika Kumari (3/19) delivered two crucial blows, first taking out Sidra Amin who was caught at point by Chamari Athapaththu off Sugandika Kumari’s bowling, before eliminating Diana Baig on her next delivery – leaving Pakistan with only two players remaining after they lost both players within consecutive deliveries from Kumari.
Muneeba Ali looks poised to score her 100 quickly. With only seven overs to go in her innings, Muneeba plays a back-foot drive off Udeshika Prabodhani that sails over deep square for six. A couple of singles follow as Muneeba attempts to bring Pakistan over the line but is eventually dismissed for a one-ball duck by Udeshika Prabodhani for one run; Pakistan finish on 116 for 9 after 20 overs of play with Sri Lanka managing 85 for nine despite having played below par innings; their bowlers particularly Kavisha Dilhari and Udeshika Prabodhani did a superb job keeping Pakistan at bay throughout their 20 overs innings innings with their bowlers doing an exceptional job of keeping Pakistan at bay throughout – even managing to finish on 116 for 9 for nine in their 20 overs run chase; their bowlers particularly Kavisha Dilhari and Udeshika Prabodhani did a superb job of restricting Pakistan batting scorecard scorecard totaling 85 for nine; Sri Lanka finished on 85 for 9 from their 20 overs scoreboard; however Sri Lanka finished on 85 for 9, finishing on 85 for 9 from their 20 overs total; their bowlers Kavisha Dilhari and Udeshika Prabodhani doing excellent work in keeping Pakistan out before it! Sri Lanka managed 115 for 9 in their 20 overs innings finish with their bowlers Kavisha Dilhari along with Udeshika Prabodhani were superb keeping Pakistan batsmen from scoring heavily by keeping batsmen off.
Nilakshi de Silva
Nilakshi de Silva is a right-handed batswoman who plays international cricket for Sri Lanka. As part of their middle order, she has been essential in their recent successes; additionally, her excellent fielding capabilities make her a valued member.
Nilakshi has made an impressionful contribution for Sri Lanka in two ODIs and three T20 matches, scoring 161 runs at an average of 29.83 across those formats. She made her breakthrough performance during Pakistan’s innings at the 2018 World Cup when she scored 50 runs off 47 deliveries off just 47 balls.
Nilakshi played an integral part in Sri Lanka’s successful chase against Pakistan. She hit three fours and one six to help post an attractive total and shared in a 43-run fourth wicket stand with Nida Dar and Omaima Sohail.
Sri Lankan middle and lower order batsmen found it difficult to adapt to Pakistan’s disciplined bowling attack, particularly Sadia Iqbal’s 3/11, including Chamari Athapaththu and Sugandika Kumari as key scalps.
Nilakshi has made one catch, no stumping, no stumming and zero throw-outs (run outs). She bats right-handed and boasts an excellent record in limited overs cricket – two ODIs as well as the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup where she enjoyed success.
Also read; Pakistan National Cricket Team Vs New Zealand National Cricket Team Timeline
Muneeba Ali
Muneeba Ali is an exciting left-handed batswoman who has excelled in domestic T20 tournaments. This season she scored 292 runs for PCB Challengers in five innings and will look to continue this form when making her debut against Sri Lanka in Sharjah. Ali’s good timing and use of the ball should give her confidence against their spinners.
This will be the first meeting between these teams since Asia Cup 2024, both currently ranked sixth and seventh respectively in ICC rankings and hoping to improve upon recent performances. Although both sides excelled in limited-overs cricket formats, both still struggled against middle order batsmen and spin bowlers respectively.
Pakistan Women, captained by Fatima Sana, have become known for their strong top-order batting and reliable bowling performances. Additionally, Nida Dar is one of many talented all-rounders they possess; yet their middle order batting has proven inadequate at times in previous outings against Sri Lanka. Therefore, the team will rely heavily on its bowlers and batswomen in order to win this match-up.
