Sri Lanka beat Scotland on the penultimate ball of their T20 World Cup clash, but their semi-final hopes took a hit
Sri Lanka have kept alive their slim hopes of making the T20 World Cup semi-finals for the first time after a dramatic last-over win over Scotland at Old Trafford.
Sri Lanka chased down their 152 target on the penultimate ball to win by three wickets.
Scotland medium-pacer Rachel Slater bowled the last over, trying to prevent Sri Lanka from scoring seven runs.
She conceded singles off the first three deliveries then pulled up and collapsed to the ground with a suspected knee injury.
Slater eventually left the field in tears and Priyanaz Chatterji stepped up, conceding a single before the winning boundary to tailender Sugandika Kumari.
It takes Sri Lanka to three victories – their most in a single women’s T20 World Cup – but they needed to win their fifth pool match by a bigger margin as chasing down their target inside 10.3 overs would have seen them jump West Indies into second spot in group two.
Going the distance barely improved their net run-rate and the Windies can now seal a place in the semi-finals by cruising against winless Ireland on Saturday.
Scotland, in their second T20 World Cup, finished fifth in the group but were chasing fourth place and direct qualification into the 2028 T20 World Cup in Pakistan.
Only Sydney Sixers wicketkeeper Sarah Bryce, in after her sister and captain Kathryn fell at 2-66 in the 10th over, made the Sri Lankans sweat with an unbeaten 33-ball 47 which included a last-ball boundary to take their total to 6-151.
Sri Lanka captain and Sydney Thunder WBBL star Chamari Athapaththu, appearing in her 10th T20 World Cup, exploded with a 16-ball 33, but after her exit at 2-57 in the sixth over, her teammates slowed and crawled over the finish line at 7-154.
Sri Lanka face a nervy wait to see if the results of the final two matches in group two fall in their favour.
Defending champions New Zealand, who are two points behind in fourth but have a better NRR than Sri Lanka, can also qualify for the semi-finals if they beat England at The Oval on Saturday night and Ireland upset West Indies.
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 standings
Round 1
Group 1
Team
Matches played
M
Wins
W
Losses
L
Ties
T
Drawn
D
No results
N/R
Net Run Rate
NRR
Deductions
Ded.
Batting Bonus
Bat
Bowling Bonus
Bowl
Total points
PTS
1
AUS
4
4
0
0
0
0
4.724
0
0
0
8
2
IND
4
3
1
0
0
0
2.268
0
0
0
6
3
SA
4
3
1
0
0
0
0.734
0
0
0
6
4
BAN
4
2
2
0
0
0
-0.849
0
0
0
4
5
PAK
4
0
4
0
0
0
-2.831
0
0
0
0
6
NED
4
0
4
0
0
0
-3.64
0
0
0
0
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points
Group 2
Team
Matches played
M
Wins
W
Losses
L
Ties
T
Drawn
D
No results
N/R
Net Run Rate
NRR
Deductions
Ded.
Batting Bonus
Bat
Bowling Bonus
Bowl
Total points
PTS
1
ENG
4
4
0
0
0
0
2.342
0
0
0
8
2
WI
4
3
1
0
0
0
0.008
0
0
0
6
3
SL
5
3
2
0
0
0
-0.725
0
0
0
6
4
NZ
4
2
2
0
0
0
0.122
0
0
0
4
5
SCO
5
1
4
0
0
0
-0.232
0
0
0
2
6
IRE
4
0
4
0
0
0
-1.277
0
0
0
0
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points
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