CHENNAI: On the final day of the Commonwealth Games cricket qualifiers in Malaysia, the Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 22 runs to seal the only berth that was available in the main event at Birmingham.
Chamari Atapattu was the leading run scorer as she smashed 221 runs, at a strike rate of 185.71. Sri Lanka will join England, India, Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, South Africa and Pakistan as the eighth team in the marquee event.
Going into Monday’s game, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were at six points each. With a win assuring their qualification, Atapattu hit a quick-fire 48 off just 28 balls as Sri Lanka finished with 136 for six. After losing the opener, Murshida Khatun (36) and Fargana Hoque (33) steadied the ship for Bangladesh.
But, Atapattu picked up the key wickets of Khatun and Nigar Sultana as Bangladesh fell short by 22 runs. Scotland and Malaysia finished with two and one wins, respectively, while Kenya ended their campaign without a victory.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 136/6 in 20 ovs (Atapattu 48; Akter 2/34) bt Bangladesh 114/5 in 20 ovs (Khatun 36; Atapattu 3/17)