Sri Lanka vs Pakistan Highlights, Women's Asia Cup Semi-Final: Sri Lanka Beat Pak To Set Up Final Against India

Date with India awaits - That's all from this absorbing contest. The momentum swung from one side to the other, with neither team willing to give an inch until the very end. Now, all roads lead to September 13, when defending champions Sri Lanka Women face India Women in Sunday's grand finale. The action begins at 2.30 pm GMT (8 pm IST), but join us early for all the build-up. Here's hoping for another cracker. Cheers!

Athapaththu backs her side! Chamari Athapaththu, the captain of Sri Lanka Women, is pleased with the way Sri Lanka's bowling unit responded, despite a couple of missed chances in the field. She is particularly delighted to see the younger players stand up when it mattered, singling out Harshitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari for soaking up the pressure and producing a match-winning partnership. Athapaththu believes Sri Lanka have several players capable of winning games on their own, with the bowling unit also faring well. If they can execute their plans in the final, she feels they have every chance of lifting the trophy.

Player of the Match - Fatima Sana may have finished on the losing side, but her individual performance was impossible to overlook. The Pakistan captain produced a superb all-round display, scoring an unbeaten 47 before returning to take four wickets and keep her side in the contest until the very end. Her efforts earn her the Player of the Match award, a fitting recognition of a standout performance in the semi-final. The Pakistan skipper says that the way Harshitha and Kavisha played, they took the game away from Pakistan, and she gives them credit for their performances. She admits the lapses in the field cost them and says there is room for improvement on the batting front. She hopes they can come back as a stronger unit next time around.

Presentation time...

Summary of first inning - It was the same old story of struggle with the bat for Pakistan. They made a poor start in the Powerplay, losing both openers, and found it difficult to build momentum through the first half. The second half was a different story, largely thanks to Fatima Sana, who once again showed why she could perhaps be batting higher up the order. Her partnership with Gull Feroza provided the foundation before Sana and Tuba Hassan finished strongly at the death. Sri Lanka were excellent for much of the innings, but perhaps took their foot off the pedal at the crucial stage. A few lapses in the field and dropped chances allowed Pakistan to recover and reach 130. The 'Cha pair', Chamari Athapaththu and Chamudi Praboda, still left their mark, combining for four wickets while conceding just 49 runs in eight overs.

Sana vs Sri Lanka - Fatima Sana was the one player who refused to let Sri Lanka have things their own way. She had already played a crucial hand with the bat, and then kept Pakistan alive with the ball, striking twice in consecutive deliveries in the first spell, and when Harshitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari threatened to take the game away, she returned to dismiss both. But Pakistan's other bowlers could not sustain the pressure. Then came the 19th over. With 13 needed from 12, Fatima bowled a high full toss that was called a no-ball, and Kaushini Nuthyangana duly deposited it over the fence. The momentum she had worked so hard to build was gone in a flash. Cricket, after all, is rarely won by one player alone.

The winning partnership - Sri Lanka's chase was beginning to drift when Harshitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari came together. What followed was a lesson in composure and intent. They weathered the difficult phase, gradually found their rhythm and began shifting the pressure back onto Pakistan. Harshitha's class stood out as the partnership grew, with the 67-run stand doing serious damage to Pakistan's hopes and taking Sri Lanka to the edge of victory. Yet, the finish still had a twist in store.

Sri Lanka wobbled early - Sri Lanka's chase got off to a poor start, with Chamari Athapaththu falling cheaply once again. In fact, they lost two wickets off consecutive deliveries in the second over bowled by Fatima Sana. The pressure was immense, but Imesha Dulani responded with a few fine strokes and, alongside Hasini Perera, added 26 runs. However, both fell within five balls of each other, leaving Sri Lanka in another precarious position. At the halfway mark, the contest was finely poised. Sri Lanka needed 78 from the final 10 overs, exactly the number Pakistan had managed during that phase of their innings.

Defending champions march on! Sri Lanka Women are in the final! It was anything but a straightforward chase, unlike how it may have looked at the innings break. The Lankans had to dig deep, drawing on every ounce of energy, stamina and class to absorb Pakistan's pressure and turn it back on them. A hard-fought win sends the Islanders into another final, where they will meet India Women in a rematch of last edition's finale.

NO BALL, FOUR! That will do nicely. Sri Lanka reach their third successive Asia Cup final. Joy all around in the Lanka camp. In contrast, Fatim Sana is visibly distraught. It slips out of Sana's hand as she dishes out an above-waist full toss, on middle. Nilakshika is taken aback slightly but manages to get the scoop up and over the keeper's head. Not exactly where Silva intended it to go, as it comes more off the outer half, but it will not matter one bit as it races away to the deep third fence and celebrations begin in the Sri Lankan dugout.

A swing and a miss. Floated up there by Sana, this was there to be cashed in with the field up on the off side. Silva backs away, looking to go inside out but fails to make any connection.

A couple of runs more as Sri Lanka inch closer to the finishing line. Serves it full, around off. Nilakshika leans across and cracks the drive between cover and mid off. The cover fielder dives to her right but the ball evades her. It is mopped up eventually by the mid-off fielder with a dive but she cannot prevent the batters from coming back for the second run. 2 needed off 9 balls.

On a back of a length, on middle. Kaushini Nuthyangana smears it away to deep mid-wicket for a single.

NO BALL, SIX! A costly error by Fatima Sana, who has been on the mark all night. It could not have come at a worse time for Pakistan. The game tilts decisively in favour of Sri Lanka, with them left needing 5 runs off 11 balls. Sana goes searching for the yorker but gets it all wrong as it comes out as an above-waist full toss, on middle. Nuthyangana takes full toll as she nails the pull shot beyond the deep square leg fence for a biggie. Free Hit coming up.

Misfield! A clean pick-up could have resulted in a run out chance. Angled in at the pads, bowled on a length. Silva tucks it straight to square leg and sets off for a quick single. Umm-e-Hani swoops in and gets low but fails to pick the ball up cleanly and lets it through. That allows the batters to complete the single comfortably.

It's time for the all-important 19th over, and who else but Fatima Sana to take the ball? She already has four wickets to her name and is one strike away from a fifer. Her aim, though, will be to squeeze out as few runs as possible, leaving Pakistan with as many as possible to defend in the final over. 13 needed off 12 balls.

1 run, this is worked away for a run.

1 run, there comes the broom and the ball is swept away for a run.

2 runs, this is driven through the covers for a couple.

1 run, there comes the broom and the ball is swept away for a run.