The ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025 clash between Sri Lanka Women and Bangladesh Women turned out to be a banger of a game full of nai biting moments. Bangladesh had this contest in the bag all along. They were through. The writing was on the wall for Sri Lanka. But clearly, they didn't read that and took it upon themselves to erase that and write their own script. And of course, it just had to be Chamari Athapaththu to get the job done with the ball.

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Bangladesh were in pursuit of 204 but started in laborious fashion, taking their usual approach of saving wickets before going big later on. They never really went big though even as their strike rotation got better towards the second half of the chase. But Fargana Hoque endured a torrid stay in the middle after Rubya Haider bagged a duck. The seamers kept things tight but with dew setting in, the spinners weren't effective enough.

Bangladesh continue to play a little too safe but Sharmin Akhter looked in good nick, raising a half-century and a solid partnership with skipper Nigar Sultana after the in-form Sobhana Mostary heaved a half-tracker down the throat of deep mid-wicket. The dot ball percentage was on the higher side but Nigar used her sweeps to great effect and took it upon herself to press on after Sharmin retired hurt with a serious case of cramp. Shorna Akter gave her captain company and the duo picked up singles at will with Nigar also finding the fence on a more regular basis.

Sri Lanka did not help themselves with an ordinary fielding display and their shoulders began to drop. But Athapaththu then rolled the dice one last time and took the ball herself, sending down three outstanding overs at the death while being ably backed up by her colleagues as they kept things tight. Ritu Moni walked in after Shorna's dismissal but endured a rather woeful stay, not kicking on when she had to and taking too much time to get her eye in. She was yorked in the penultimate over, which produced just three runs as Sugandika Kumari set things up for her captain.

And then, Athapaththu took charge, trapping Rabeya Khan plumb in front first ball before Nilakshi de Silva produced a sensational throw to run Nahida Akhter out. The next delivery landed the death knell as Nigar holed out for 77, before Sharmin Akhter returned to resume her innings. She did not bat until the last ball though as Athapaththu picked one more wicket as part of a team double hat-trick, paving the way for Sri Lanka to orchestrate a stunning jailbreak. And as a result, Bangladesh are officially the first team out of the tournament!

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