MANCHESTER: Sri Lanka captain Samari Athapathu’s superb bowling gave Sri Lanka a three-wicket victory over Scotland in the 25th match of the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at Old Trafford.
The win, Sri Lanka’s third at the 12-team mega event, kept them in the Group 2 semi-final race and lifted them to third place with six points, behind second-placed West Indies due to their low net run rate.
For Sri Lanka, the West Indies need to lose their final group-stage match against Ireland by a huge margin, and hosts England, who have already progressed to the knockout stages, need to beat defending champions New Zealand.
Chasing a tough target of 152, Sri Lanka managed to reach the winning runs off the final delivery of the innings despite a spirited start by captain Athapathu, who went on to top score with 33 off 16 balls with 6 fours and a six.
But with his dismissal in the sixth over, Sri Lanka began to crumble as they continued to lose wickets at an alarming rate, and despite notable contributions from Harshita Samarawickrama (27), Hasini Perera (23) and Kavisha Dilhari (18), the equation was reduced to 17 in the final two overs.
However, middle-order batsman Nilakshika Silva led them to victory with an unbeaten 21 in the final over.
For Scotland, Rachel Slater, Kathryn Price and captain Kathryn Fraser took 2 wickets and Christy Gordon took one wicket.
A fifth-wicket partnership between Alika Lister and Price saw Scotland post 151/6 in 20 overs.
The duo took charge of Scotland’s batting at 85/3 in 13.3 overs after the dismissal of right-handed opener Darcy Carter, who scored 34 off 36 balls with five boundaries.
Chasing the Sri Lankan bowlers in the second half of Scotland’s innings, Price and Lister were run out with a combined 53 off 31 balls and 26 off 17 balls with 4 fours.
The wicketkeeper batsman, on the other hand, batted till the end and ensured that he added valuable runs to Scotland’s total with a sensational knock at the back. He returned after top-scoring with an unbeaten 47 off 33 balls with 6 fours.
Mithali Ayodhya was Sri Lanka’s best bowler with 2 wickets for 34 runs in her four overs, while Kavisha Dilhari and Sukanthika Kumari took one wicket each.
It is pertinent to mention that the ongoing tournament is very important for Sri Lanka as a win by a significant margin will boost their hopes of qualifying for the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup.
Notably, Sri Lanka are currently fourth in the Group 2 standings with four points from as many games and need to tie both the West Indies and New Zealand at the end of the group stage to advance to the knockouts.