Once joty

ODI World Cup: Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu summed up the thrilling finish, crediting her team’s never-say-die attitude after she bowled a sensational final over to pull off a seven-run win against Bangladesh in a match that went down to the last ball at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025, here at DY Patil Stadium here on Monday.

Her four-wicket burst (4-42) in the death overs, including four scalps in four balls, turned the contest around as Sri Lanka snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and stayed alive in the competition. “Actually, we handled the pressure till the last over. As a captain, I always say fight till the end. So we kept fighting. We executed the right plans,” Athapaththu said after the match. “Though we dropped many catches and made a few mistakes, it wasn’t our best performance but I’m happy with the win.”

Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka had a nightmare start with Vishmi Gunaratne dismissed off the first ball of the innings. But Athapaththu and Hasini Perera rebuilt with counterattacking intent, peppering the boundaries to revive the innings. Athapaththu’s fluent 46 set the tone before leg-spinner Rabeya Khan struck, dismissing her and triggering a middle-order wobble.