Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh to join India in ACC Women’s Asia Cup 2026 …

Harshitha Samarawickrama held her nerve as Sri Lanka came back from a difficult position to beat Bangladesh by four wickets and book their place in the semi-finals of the Women’s Asia Cup in Dubai. cricket-info.homes

Chasing 115, Sri Lanka were in trouble at 44/5 before Harshitha took control of the innings. The left-hander finished unbeaten on 48 and helped her team reach the target with four balls to spare. Her innings started with caution, but she changed gears when Sri Lanka needed quick runs.

Bangladesh had made a steady start after being asked to bat first. Juairiya Ferdous and Dilara Akter put on runs in the opening overs, but Sri Lanka kept taking wickets at regular intervals. Dilara scored 25 before being dismissed by Chamudi Praboda, while Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana Joty fell for four.

Sobhana Mostary was the main contributor with the bat, scoring 34 to take Bangladesh close to the 100-run mark. Praboda then removed Mostary and Shorna Akter to finish with figures of 3/21. Bangladesh ended their innings on 114, with Sri Lanka’s spinners keeping the scoring under control in the final overs.

Sri Lanka’s chase began badly. Bangladesh fast bowler Marufa Akter dismissed Chamari Athapaththu for one and then removed Imesha Dulani for 12. Sanjana Kavindi, Vishmi Gunaratne and Kavisha Dilhari also fell as Sri Lanka slipped further.

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Harshitha found support from Nilakshika Silva, who scored 18. The pair steadied the innings, but Nilakshika was dismissed with Sri Lanka needing 33 runs from the final four overs.

That left Harshitha with most of the responsibility. She hit a four and a six off Ritu Moni in the 18th over before taking 11 runs from the 19th, including a six off the final ball. The finish left Sri Lanka needing only a few runs in the last over, and they completed the chase without further trouble.

The victory gave Sri Lanka a perfect group-stage record. The defending champions had earlier defeated Bangladesh, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates before beating Bangladesh again to secure their semi-final place. Sri Lanka also entered the tournament as the reigning champions after defeating India in the 2024 final.

India had already reached the semi-finals after a one-sided seven-wicket win over Pakistan. Pakistan were bowled out for just 55, with Shree Charani and Prema Rawat taking three wickets each. India chased down the target in 8.4 overs, with Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma finishing the game unbeaten.

The timing could not have been better for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.

A month after the disappointment of missing out on a medal at the World Championships in New Delhi, India’s leading men’s doubles pair have responded in the most convincing way possible. They have won the China Masters, a tournament that had twice previously ended with them on the wrong side of the final result.

More importantly, they have done it against a home pair after losing the opening game of the final.

That combination makes the victory particularly relevant with the Asian Games approaching. Satwik and Chirag will not be travelling to the Asiad looking to prove that they belong among the best. They already have that status. They will be going there as defending champions, with the expectation that they should be challenging for gold again.

That brings a different kind of pressure.

Their title in Shenzhen gives them something every defending champion wants before a major event: evidence that their game is working when the stakes are high. Against He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu, they were forced to respond after surrendering the first game 11-21. The second game brought a change in momentum, and the Indians then managed the deciding game well enough to close out the victory.

The scoreline tells only part of the story. The more important point is that Satwik and Chirag were able to stay in the contest long enough to change it. That was the narrative throughout the week, as they were taken to three games in four consecutive matches.

Things have not always been straightforward for them this season. Their attacking game can overwhelm opponents when everything falls into place, but the strongest pairs in Asia are capable of absorbing that first wave of aggression and turning it back on them. At the Asian Games, they will face opponents familiar with their strengths and increasingly comfortable with the challenge of playing them.

The China Masters offered a useful rehearsal. They also had to deal with the weight of history at the tournament. Having finished runners-up in Shenzhen in 2023 and 2025, this was a chance to remove one of the few significant gaps from their record at the Super 750 event. They took it.

There is a psychological benefit to that which statistics cannot quite capture.

Satwik and Chirag now know that they can arrive at a major tournament after a setback and quickly rebuild their momentum. The World Championships had raised questions about their form. The China Masters has provided an immediate answer.

It also gives them a victory over a Chinese combination in China, something that can matter when the next major assignment is an Asian multi-sport event where the home crowd, the atmosphere and the pressure will all be amplified.

The Asian Games, however, will not be won on the back of one tournament. The field remains packed with quality, and the margins between the leading men’s doubles pairs are small. Satwik and Chirag will need to reproduce the discipline they showed in Shenzhen while retaining the aggression that has made them one of the most formidable attacking pairs in the sport.

For now, though, they can allow themselves to enjoy the significance of what they have achieved.

The Asian Games will demand another level of consistency. In Hangzhou, they breezed through the draw, losing a game only to Leo Carnando and Daniel Marthin of Indonesia. Three years on, they have had to slightly modify their tactics in order to nurse Satwik’s shoulder injury. In China, in crucial moments, they played according to one of the tenets Sun Tzu mentioned in The Art of War: “Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.”

Satwik and Chirag will head into their title defence with something they did not have a few weeks ago: fresh momentum and the reassurance that, when a match starts going against them, they have the capacity to turn it around.

For the defending champions, that is an ideal place to begin.

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Dubai [UAE], September 7 (ANI): Harshitha Samarawickrama’s patient knock helped Sri Lanka overcome a valiant effort from Bangladesh bowlers and secure her side a spot in the women’s Asia Cup semifinals with a four-wicket win on Sunday.

After being asked to bat first, Bangladesh were off to a positive start in Dubai, with Juairiya Ferdous and Dilara Akter going at six runs an over till the five-over mark before the former fell to Sugandika Kumari for 14.

Chamudi Praboda lifted Sri Lanka further by accounting for Dilara (26 in 26 balls, with four boundaries) in the seventh over. The middle overs took a turn for the better for the island nation as Kavisha Dilhari trapped Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana Joty (4) leg before wicket, as per ICC.

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Sobhana Mostary was a sight of resistance amidst Sri Lankan dominance and added 34 runs (in 41 balls, with four boundaries) to get Bangladesh closer to the 100 run mark, before she too was stumped off Praboda.

Praboda added another scalp to her returns in the form of Shorna Akter and finished with sharp figures of 3/21.

Bangladesh crossed the three-figure mark but their scoring rate failed to pick up as Sri Lanka’s spinners delivered with discipline in the death overs, with 12 runs coming off between overs 17-19, before Fahima Khatun unleashed some attacking strokes in the final over. Bangladesh could score only 114/8 in 20 overs.

Chasing 115 runs to win, Sri Lanka were stunned early in the chase, as Bangladesh speedster Marufa Akter got rid of Chamari Athapaththu for merely one. Marufa doubled Sri Lanka’s woes with another wicket in her following over, getting rid of Imesha Dulani (12).

As Sultana Khatun cleaned up Sanjana Kavindi (9), Sri Lanka needed a rescue act as the required rate crept beyond six in the middle overs. But pressure mounted as Vishmi Gunaratne fell to Ritu Moni and Kavisha Dilhari was run out. SL was 82/6 in 16.2 overs.

Samarawickrama showed resilience and fought on for Sri Lanka, finding support from Nilakshika Silva. The duo saw through the tough phase of the middle overs and kept Sri Lanka in sight of the target.

The game hung in balance, as Sri Lanka needed 33 off the last four overs, when Marufa returned to clean up Nilakshika (18) for her third scalp and tilt the scales in favour of Bangladesh yet again.

However, Harshitha (48* in 37 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) persevered through Marufa’s final over, and took on Ritu Moni, unleashing a four and a six to bring Sri Lanka right into the contest in the 18th over. Plundering 11 off the 19th over, with a six off the final ball, Harshitha made the task easier for Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka eventually took the win, with four wickets and four balls in hand.

Sri Lanka are now through to the semi-final stage of the Asia Cup, having won all their contests in the group stage.

On the other hand, all is not lost for Bangladesh, who will go up against the United Arab Emirates next. A win in that encounter can help the side advance to the knock-out stage. (ANI)

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Women’s Asia Cup 2026: श्रीलंका ने वूमेंस एशिया कप 2026 के 10वें मुकाबले में बांग्लादेश को 4 विकेट से हराकर सेमीफाइनल में जगह पक्की कर ली। श्रीलंकाई टीम इस टूर्नामेंट में जीत की हैट्रिक लगाकर ‘ग्रुप-बी’ की पॉइंट्स टेबल में शीर्ष पर रही। दुबई इंटरनेशनल क्रिकेट स्टेडियम में बांग्लादेशी ने पहले बल्लेबाजी करते हुए 20 ओवर में 8 विकेट खोकर 114 रन बनाए। जवाब में श्रीलंका ने 19.2 ओवर में 6 विकेट गंवाकर लक्ष्य हासिल कर लिया।

New York [US], September 7 (ANI): Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz marched into the quarterfinals of the ongoing US Open, overcoming local favourite Tommy Paul on Sunday.

The world number three secured a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win over the American. Competing in his first major tournament in four months after a layoff due to wrist injuries, Alcaraz’s consistency has led to him dropping just one set in four games during the tournament.

With this win, Alcaraz has secured a 7-2 lead over the American in the ATP Head-to-Head series and has beaten him at all four Grand Slam events, becoming the 10th man to beat the same opponent at each Grand Slam in the Open Era.

Speaking during the post-match interview as quoted by ATP’s official website, Alcaraz said, “I played my game. I tried to play my style. Tommy is such a talented player. His shots are pretty dangerous, and sometimes it is really difficult to control the ball when it comes to you. I just tried to be ready for a battle and tried to be aggressive all the time."

“I tried not to let him stay [high up] on the court and I think I did pretty well to put so much pressure on return games, which for me helped a lot to play relaxed, to play calm and think clearly. I am really happy with the performance today," he added.

In the first nine games, none of them managed to earn a break point, but Alcaraz broke to clinch the first set. The 23-year-old broke Paul’s serve twice in the second set and once more in the third, clinching the match in two hours and 20 minutes with 33 winners to his name.

“I think so," Alcaraz said, on whether he was back to his full physical best. “I did not expect to reach at least the quarter-finals here every year since 2021, so that shows how special this place is to me. It shows how good I play every time I come here. It does not matter that I was out for four and a half months: Every time that I come here I play my best," he signed off.

With his fourth-round win, Alcaraz has extended his winning streak at majors to 18 matches, a personal-best tally which includes his 2025 US Open win and title run at the January Australian Open, which saw him become the youngest player to reach a career Grand Slam. So far, in the season, he has 26 wins and just three losses. (ANI)

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