Sri-Lanka thrashed Bangladesh by nine wickets in Melbourne and ensured that they did not finish bottom of Group A.
Despite a promising victory over England in a warm-up game before this World-Cup and a narrow defeat to Australia early in the tournament, Sri-Lanka entered this game winless, and like Bangladesh, were already eliminated from the competition.
For two sides who were fighting to avoid the embarrassment of finishing last in Group A however, it was Sri-Lanka who dominated from start to finish.
In her final match before retirement, Shashikala Siriwardene claimed 4-16 as Bangladesh struggled to 91-8 from their 20 overs. Nigar Sultana Joty top scored with 39 from 45 balls, before she was run out by Chamari Atapattu. Achini Kulasooriya took two wickets of her own, whilst the other was taken by Kaveesha Dilhari, who was the most economical of the Sri-Lanka bowlers, conceding just 13 runs from her four overs.
The run chase proved to be straightforward for Sri-Lanka. The inform Atapattu scored 30 from just 22 balls, but was dismissed in the ninth over by Nahida Akter. This proved to be the only wicket Bangladesh would take however, as the lack of runs on the board allowed the Sri-Lanka pair of Hasini Perera and Anushka Sanjeewani to play themselves in, scoring 39 and 16 respectively.
Sri-Lanka needed just 15.3 overs in total to reach the target, and in truth, were a class above Bangladesh throughout the contest. They will no doubt consider themselves unfortunate to have found themselves in Group A, with three of the top four ranked teams in the World, especially given their pre-tournament success.
Bangladesh as well, despite finishing the tournament winless, will take pride in their performance against India, and should be pleased with the likes of Sultana Joty, who impressed all tournament and is no doubt one for the future.
Whilst neither side managed to cause an upset in this tournament alone, it does at least seem like the standard of competition in women’s cricket is on the up.