Sri Lanka beat Scotland to stay alive in semi-final race, book T20 World Cup 2028 spot

Sri Lanka managed to stay alive in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, with a thrilling three-wicket victory against Scotland in Match 25 on Friday, June 26 at Old Trafford, Manchester. After being asked to bat first, Scotland posted a decent score of 151/6 in their 20 overs, with Sarah Bryce top-scoring with a brilliant knock.

Darcey Carter (34 off 36) and Ailsa Lister (26 off 17) also made valuable contributions, while Mithali Ayodhya (2/34) picked up two wickets for Sri Lanka. In reply, Sri Lanka thrillingly chased down the target in 19.5 overs with Chamari Athapaththu (33 off 16) leading from the front, while Harshitha Samarawickrama (27 off 23) and Hasini Perera (23 off 17) also making valuable contributions.

Scotland bowlers fought hard with Katherine Fraser, captain Kathryn Bryce (2/28) and Rachel Slater (2/31, 3.3 overs) taking two wickets each. However, Sri Lanka held their nerve and eventually got over the line. As a result, they stayed alive in the semi-final race, rising to third spot in Group B points table with six points, while Scotland got knocked out of the tournament with just two points from five matches.

Courtesy of their win, Sri Lanka also earned an automatic qualification to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2028 and registered three wins for the first time in a single edition of a T20 World Cup. On the other hand, Scotland missed a direct qualification for the next edition of the tournament.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Nilakshika Silva was adjudged Player of the Match for her vital contribution of 21* (21) lower down the order in the tricky run chase. Silva arrived at the crease with Sri Lanka on 102/5 after 12.3 overs chasing 155. As wickets fell around her, she stitched useful stands with Kavisha Dilhari (18 off 17), Kaushani Nuthyangana (12 off 10) and Sugandika Kumari (7* off 5) to ensure Sri Lanka crossed the finishing line.

Turning Point

Scotland had put Sri Lanka under immense pressure as 27 runs were required off the last three overs. After the equation came further down to 25 off 15 balls,  Gabriella Fontenla dropped Kaushani Nuthyangana on four at short third man, and the ball burst through her hands to travel towards the boundary for a four. Fontenla again gave a reprieve to Nilakshika Silva on 12, dropping her at point. Had Scotland taken those chances, they could’ve had the result in their favour.

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka women):

First of all, I would like to congratulate Scotland on the way they played today. I'm really happy the way they played. I'm not superstitious. As a team, we are playing really good cricket, but I'm not happy with the way we batted today, because we are not handling the pressure in the middle. But in the last part of the game, Nilakshi, Kaushani and Sugandika played really good. That's why we won. But I feel we need to improve our batting a lot. (On trying to improve the NRR) That's why I tried to go. I tried to to score more runs in the powerplay. That's why I charged every ball. Unfortunately, I got out, so couldn't make that score in 10.3 overs. We need to improve in a lot of areas before the next series. And as a captain, I know we need to improve our batting and the bowling as well. But in this T20 World Cup, we've been playing our best cricket. (On their fielding today) Nilakshi, Kavisha and a few fielders did really good. But as a team, we need to improve our fielding as well. End of the day, we need to improve our cricket. That's the main thing because we have played more cricket compared to Scotland. So as a top nation, we need to play our best cricket in this kind of tournament. We won three games, that's a really good thing. Before coming here, we tried to make the semi-finals, that was our target. But unfortunately, we lost against West Indies. Good positive things, we carry it for next series. (Are you ready to lead the team through to the 2028 T20 WC) It depends on my performance and my fitness. I'm 36 years old now. So let's see what I can do.

Losing Captain, Kathryn Bryce (Scotland women):

That (Super Over) definitely crossed my mind. As we started that last over. I thought if we could get a couple of dots in there, you never really knew what was going to happen in the last over. The way that the rest of the match gone, I wouldn't have been surprised. (Frustrated that you couldn't just win those little moments?) Absolutely, that is quite heartbreaking, really. To come so close in probably three of our matches and I think in a lot of really good positions where we could have got over the line. We've played some absolutely incredible cricket and I'm really proud of how the girls have gone out there and fought. But equally, we've also been good enough that we actually should have been able to go over the line, a few of those games and maybe be in a very different position today. (Was 151 a par score?) Definitely felt it was right on the edge. We probably struggled kind of through that middle period. But I think the way that they managed to play at the end and get us up to that total really had us in the game. The way that we fought back through that middle period as well after ... Athapaththu ... the way that she strikes the ball is absolutely unbelievable. But to still be in the game after an innings like that and then fight back and take it to the last over is amazing.