DHAKA, -Bangladesh ended their ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign empty-handed after tasting a thumping nine-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in Melbourne on Monday. Salma Khatun’s team lost their first match to India by 18 runs before suffering an 86-run loss to Australia and 17-run defeat to New Zealand.
The Tigress showed a disappointing batting performance throughout the tournament and no player could manage a half-century. In their last match
too, they paid the price of reckless batting to be restricted to 91-8, which Sri Lanka happily hunted down, making 92-1 in just 15.3 overs.
Wicketkeeper-batter Nigar Sultana’s dogged 39 off 45 balls gave the innings some respectability after Salma Khatun elected to bat first. Only two other batters, Sanjida Islam and Fargana Haque, who both made an identical 13, managed to reach double digit in a cumbersome effort.
Sri Lankan all-rounder Shashikala Siriwardene, who is going to retire from the cricket after this tournament claimed 4-16 to wreck-havoc on Bangladeshi batting. She was ably supported by Achini Kulasuriya’s 2-19, which ensured Bangladesh’s innings never got the required momentum.
Siriwardena’s figures 4-16 were the best in the tournament to date in her final international match, eclipsing Bangladesh pacer’s Ritu Moni’s 4-18
against New Zealand. With this performance she earned for herself a memorable farewell after 17 years of service to Sri Lankan cricket.
Siriwardene drew the blood first to make Bangladesh disarray with the wicket of opener Murshida Khatun for 3 after which Kulasuriya took the
charge. She ripped through Bangladeshi middle order amid the resistance of Nigar Sultana. Fargana Haque too indicated to dazzle but Dilhari removed her to ensure that they would never get the momentum.
Siriwardene then came back in the death overs to clean up Bangladesh’s tail. Bangladesh started with maiden but failed to keep up the pressure for a
long time. Opener Hasini Perera and skipper Chamari Atapattu basically tormented them once they got themselves set in the crease.
Perera led the victory with 53 ball-39 not out, hitting five fours. But it was skipper Chamari Atapattu’s 22 ball-30 with two fours and two sixes that
hastened the victory. She was dismissed by Nahida Akter but Perea and Anushka Sanjeewani, who made 16 not out, ensured they would race to the victory without any fuss.
Scores in brief
Bangladesh 91-8, 20 overs (Nigar Sultana Joty 39; Shashikala Siriwardena 4-16, Achini Kulasuriya 2-19)
Sri Lanka 92-1, 15.3 overs (Hasini Perera 39 not out, Chamari Athapaththu 30; Nahida Akter 1-18)
