Harshitha Samarawickrama has taken the baton from the skipper and has kept her side on the course of a title-clinching win.
Deepti Sharma finally gets her prize! The big wicket of Chamari Athapaththu is here as Deepti gets full right into the blackhole, almost, and the Sri Lankan captain missed it completely. India with a huge wicket.
Chamarai Athapaththu's mental toughness and consistency are something to be envious of. She is single-handedly keeping Sri Lanka in the game and has gotten another half-century.
Till the fifth over, the Indian team had a stranglehold over the game but the floodgates opened in the final over of the powerplay with Tanuja Kanwer's over going for 16 runs. Since then, some poor bowling combined with attacking approach has helped SL take the bull by its horns.
Vishmi Gunaratne was in the middle with her skipper Chamari after a miscommunication and India have gotten an early breakthrough in their defence of 166.
Sri Lankan openers Chamari Athapththu and Vishmi Gunaratne have come to bat as they face a huge task of chasing down 166 runs on a used surface, Athapaththu will have to do the heavy lifting once again.
Despite Smriti and Jemimah Rodrigues' show, India still were in need of a quickfire end to the innings and Richa Ghosh provided that. With the help of four fours and a six, Ghosh's 14-ball 30 not only provided India the momentum but helped them get to a score in excess of 160.
It was good while it lasted! Smriti Mandhana had her share of luck but she stay determined to play long for India but finally ran out of it, getting dismissed for 60. However, she has helped put her team in commanding posiition.
Smriti Mandhana rode her luck early on to play an important knock in the final and she has gotten to her fifty and will be key if India have to get past the total of 160 runs.
Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur fell for 11 after not getting the timing right on the shot that she played across the line and India have lost their third wicket.
Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu took the matter into her own hands as she sent back Uma Chetry quickly after her team broke the opening partnership. Chetry tried to play a bit too square but the ball wasn't there for the same and was plumb in front.
Kavisha Dilhari has struck for Sri Lanka, trapping Shafali in front of the wickets. Shafali was not happy as the ball was hit on her knee roll but had to walk back as Sri Lanka have gotten a wicket, immediately after the powerplay.
Smriti Mandhana was dropped once, had a couple of close chances but has come out of the powerplay unscathed with Shafali Verma playing a few good shots. Those three boundaries in the final over of the powerplay helped India cross the 40-mark in the powerplay without losing a wicket.
Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana are out in the middle, opening the innings for India after the Women in Blue opted to bat first in the summit clash. The openers will be hoping to give India a good start.
It is a used wicket but despite that, there are runs to be had on this wicket. It played really well in the semis and still is a good wicket to bat on. There is a bit of wind with clouds overhead. And the wind played a factor, specially with big pockets straight down the ground. If India get to 160, Sri Lanka will have to bat really well to chase it down. 140-150 could be a real tight game.
Playing XI: Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu(c), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani(w), Hasini Perera, Sugandika Kumari, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Udeshika Prabodhani, Sachini Nisansala
Playing XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Uma Chetry, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Tanuja Kanwar, Renuka Thakur Singh
Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and elected to bat first saying that it was a used wicket since both the semis were played on that surface and might slow down as the match progresses. Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapththu wanted to bowl first as they are coming off a successful run-chase in the semi-final.
Both India and Sri Lanka have been unbeaten so far in the tournament. While India have breezed past Pakistan, the UAE, Nepal and Bangladesh in the semi-final, Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and Pakistan in the semis on their way to the final. India definitely start as favourites given how they have won their games, Sri Lanka have been strong enough not to let a match slip. Who will it be on the big day?
India will take on Sri Lanka in the Women's Asia Cup final in Dambulla on Sunday, July 28. This will be the fifth occasion when India and Sri Lanka are taking on each other in the Women's Asia Cup final, the second time in the T20 format. India have won seven out of eight editions and three out of four in the shortest format while Sri Lanka are looking for their first title.
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