Women's Asia Cup cricket:

Sri Lanka seal final place

KARACHI, Saturday - Shashikala Siriwardene put in a match-winning performance with four wickets as Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 30 runs to seal their place in the final of the Asia Cup at Karachi.

Sri Lanka struggled with the bat only managing 123 in 45.2 overs but they bowled Pakistan out for a paltry 93 in 40.4 overs with Siriwardene taking 4 for 11.

Pakistan went into the match needing a win with a bonus point to stay in the competition. They started off well by reducing Sri Lanka to 15 for 3 but then conceded 21 wides allowing the visitors to sneak up to a defendable total on a difficult pitch.

Parab Udawatte (28) and Hiroshi Abeyasinghe (25) forged a 56-run stand for the fourth wicket before Pakistan's left-arm spinner, Sajida Shah, grabbed three quick wickets.

However, in return Pakistan found the going tough and only Arman Khan (24) and Urooj Mumtaz (16) offered resistance against some disciplined bowling by the Sri Lankans.

Sri Lanka will meet the defending champions India in the final on January 4.India has already qualified for the final after winning their first two matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Sri Lanka 123 (Udawatte 28) beat Pakistan 93 (Siriwardene 4-11) by 30 runs. [Cricinfo]

India maintain unbeaten record

Karachi Sunday (AFP)

Defending champions India maintained their unbeaten record in the second women's Asia Cup, beating Sri Lanka by 10 wickets at the Gymkhana ground here Sunday.

India, who won their earlier match against the Islanders by the same margin, demolished Sri Lanka once again with their professional approach, and remain firmly on course to defend the title they won in 2003.

The Indians bundled their opponents out for a mere 124 runs in 49.1 overs with Rumeli Dhar (3-10), Varsna Raphael (3-22), Neetu David (2-12) and Nosheen Al-khadeer (2-26) sharing the wickets.

Praba Udawathe with 30, and Dedunu de Silva and Sumudu Fernando with 21 each were the notable scorers for the Sri Lankans.

India then knocked off the runs without losing any wicket, with Monica Sumra hitting 63 and Karuna Jain scoring 54.

India and Sri Lanka meet again in the Asia Cup final on January 4, but first the Indians take on Pakistan in an inconsequential last league match on Monday.