Twitter Reactions: New-ball pair, Gunaratne assist Sri Lanka to emphatic victory over Bangladesh in Women's Asia Cup

In the 4th match of the ongoing Women's Asia Cup 2024, Sri Lanka hosted Bangladesh at Dambulla on Saturday, July 20. Batting first, Bangladesh would've had aspirations for a stronger start after electing to bat first, but found themselves in a dire predicament, losing four wickets during the powerplay. This early collapse proved too difficult to recover from, ultimately sealing their fate as they fell to a seven-wicket loss.

In hindsight, the outcome seemed inevitable from the very first over of the match. Left-arm medium pacer, Udeshika Prabodhani, made a stunning comeback, claiming two wickets in consecutive deliveries after conceding a boundary earlier in the spell. Inoshi Priyadharshani then struck twice more within the powerplay itself, claiming wickets in the second and sixth overs of the innings, respectively. This left Bangladesh in terrible straits, struggling at 18/4 after six overs, with a monumental task ahead of them.

The onus to steer Bangladesh forward rested on skipper Nigar Sultana's shoulders. She began cautiously, scoring only six runs off her first 18 balls. By the end of the tenth over, Bangladesh had reached 46 without the loss of any further hiccups, but the mounting pressure led to Shorifa Khatun's downfall. At 65/6 following Rabeya Khan's dismissal, it seemed doubtful if Bangladesh would even reach 100.

However, a timely knock from Shorna Akter (25 off 14) enabled Bangladesh to conclude their innings at 111/8. This was a rather subpar total, yet a commendable recovery given the precarious situation they found themselves mired in earlier in the piece. Sultana missed out on her eighth T20I half-century by only two runs, ending unbeaten on 48 off 59. 

Just as it appeared that the hosts would navigate the powerplay unscathed, captain, Chamari Athapaththu, succumbed, granting Nahida Akter her first breakthrough. Renowned for her clean striking, particularly with shots down the ground, Athapaththu uncharacteristically miscued this time, only to find long-on. However, as the Lankans have repeatedly demonstrated this year, they are no longer reliant on a single player.

Harshitha Samarawickrama joined Vishmi Gunaratne at the crease, and together they navigated the innings with aplomb. They capitalized on occasional boundary opportunities and, when such chances were sparse, adeptly manoeuvred the ball into open areas to keep the scoreboard ticking with well-placed singles.

In this partnership, Gunaratne assumed the role of the primary aggressor, while Samarawickrama contentedly played a supporting role. Their collaboration, which yielded 54 runs, significantly positioned the hosts as frontrunners for victory.

Despite Akter's noteworthy performance — cleaning Gunaratne up after her half-century and claiming a return catch to remove Samarawickrama, thereby securing a three-wicket haul and delivering the most economical figures from either side in the match, Bangladesh Women succumbed to their ninth consecutive T20I defeat of 2024.

Here's how X reacted to the game to match 4 of the Women's Asia Cup 2024: