MANCHESTER, England (AP) – Sri Lanka kept their slim hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup alive for the first time after a dramatic final-over victory over Scotland at Old Trafford on Friday.
Sri Lanka chased a target of 152 in the penultimate ball and won by three wickets.
Scottish medium pacer Rachel Slater bowled the final over and tried to stop Sri Lanka from scoring seven runs. She conceded singles in her first three deliveries but was then pulled up and fell to the ground with a suspected knee injury. Slater eventually left the field in tears, but Priyanaz Chatterjee stepped up and conceded a single, but then conceded the winning boundary to Sughandika Kumari at the end.
Sri Lanka needed to win within 10.3 overs to achieve their best-ever third World Cup win, but their net run rate improved little over the distance and West Indies will be able to seal the second and final semi-final spot in their group by playing unbeaten Ireland on Saturday.
Scotland, playing their second T20 World Cup, finished fifth in their group but were aiming for fourth place and direct qualification to the 2028 T20 World Cup in Pakistan.
However, after her sister and captain Kathryn went down with 66-2 in 10 overs, only Sarah Blyth hit the final ball boundary with an unbeaten 33-ball 47 to leave the Sri Lankans sweating with a total of 151-6.
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Atapattu, playing in his 10th T20 World Cup, exploded with a 16-ball 33, but his dismissal at 57 for 2 in the sixth over slowed his teammates and they crawled across the goal line at 154 for 7.
Saturday will also see games between Netherlands and Pakistan, and semi-finalists England and defending champions New Zealand.
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