Athapaththu's Unbeaten 83 Sends Sri Lanka Past Pakistan Into Asian Games Final

Sri Lanka Women reached the Asian Games 2026 gold-medal match, beating Pakistan by eight wickets in the first semi-final at Korogi Sports Park, powered by a captain's innings from Chamari Athapaththu.

Chasing 178 for victory, Sri Lanka cruised home in 17.5 overs. Imesha Dulani gave the innings a brisk start with 27 off 21 balls before Athapaththu took over, finishing unbeaten on 83 off 50 balls with seven fours and six sixes. She added 95 for the second wicket with Hasini Perera, who made 42, before Harshitha Samarawickrama saw the chase home with an unbeaten 17.

Earlier, Pakistan posted a competitive 177 for 4 after being asked to bat first, with Ayesha Zafar top-scoring on 71 and Shawaal Zulfiqar adding 54.

Sri Lanka will now face the winner of India and Bangladesh's semi-final in Tuesday's gold-medal match, while Pakistan drop into the bronze-medal playoff.