Pakistan Women VS Sri Lanka Women Match ball by ball Commentary

On to the next one - Well then, Sri Lanka advance to the final match with spring in their step, whereas Pakistan are left scratching their heads as to what went so wrong for them. In reality, they were unable to make inroads and just caved under pressure in the end. But who will face Sri Lanka in the Gold Medal match? That will be decided through the second semi-final which is about to get underway between India Women and Bangladesh Women. The winner will qualify for the final and the loser will face Pakistan in the Bronze Medal match. Our buildup has already begun and the toss is just a few moments away as well. So do switch tabs to follow all the updates from the second semi-final. From here, we sign off. Cheers!

Zafar and Zulfiqar to the rescue - Sri Lanka will look back on this one and wince at the chances put down. Jabeen was let off on 12 by Kavindi, Zulfiqar survived on 25 courtesy of Samarawickrama, and Ayesha Zafar got a life on 5 thanks to Ayodhya - three missed opportunities in a crucial semifinal with a gold medal on the line. Pakistan made the most of every reprieve. Reduced to 35 for 2 early on, they engineered a superb recovery through Shawaal Zulfiqar and Ayesha Zafar, who put together a fluent, proactive 115-run stand, both bringing up half-centuries along the way. Sri Lanka, sloppy in the field throughout, simply had no answer to stem the flow of runs as they erred a lot. And not even Athapaththu could find a breakthrough to pull things back. Fatima Sana then provided a late cameo of 20 from 12 to get Pakistan to a commanding 177, which, in the end, still proved insufficient.

The Athapaththu show - It looked like a fine batting surface, with true bounce on offer, and Imesha Dulani made the most of it, getting off the blocks in style. Sana brought her innings to an early close, but not before laying a solid platform. At the other end, Chamari Athapaththu took her time settling in, surviving reprieves on 8 and 18, before finally cutting loose and getting off to her well-paced half-century. There was a conscious effort throughout to keep the dot balls to a minimum. She struck up crucial partnerships along the way, first with Dulani, then an enterprising 95-run stand with Hasini Perera, who also found her range before eventually falling. Harshitha Samarawickrama then partnered her skipper adroitly through the closing stages, and that proved enough to seal the job rather comfortably.

A medal, confirmed - Sri Lanka have qualified for the final in the Asian Games by crushing Pakistan in this semifinal. With that, they have also ensured that they won't be flying back home empty-handed. Pakistan, meanwhile, have been left shell-shocked, hit by a storm named Chamari Athapaththu, who just blew them away effortlessly. It once again proved how valuable she has been for Sri Lankan cricket over the years. It isn't all over for Pakistan just yet, though, as a bronze medal shot still awaits. But having batted so well to post a big total on the board, they will definitely feel their bowlers owed them a far better showing than what they got out there.