Despite securing their first win of the tournament, Athapaththu was not pleased with the team’s batting performance as SL were at 174-5 in the 32nd over and added just 28 more
SL’s Chamari Athapaththu vs Bangladesh in Navi Mumbai on Monday. Pic/Atul Kamble
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu (4-42), who defended nine runs in the final over against Bangladesh to register their maiden win in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup at DY Patil Stadium on Monday, revealed that she had first asked their most experienced bowler Udeshika Prabodhani to shoulder the responsibility. However, when she saw that left-arm medium pacer Prabodhani was reluctant, the captain took it upon herself to bowl the decisive over, claiming three wickets with her off-spin and effecting one run out to secure a seven-run win and keep SL’s slim semi-final hopes alive.
Athapaththu, 35, who also scored a 43-ball 46 and became the first SL woman to cross 4,000 ODI runs, conceded just one run in the 50th over. She gave credit to left-arm spinner Sugandika Kumari (2-38), who conceded just three runs in the 49th over. “We fought hard till the last over. In the 49th over, Sugandika [2-38] bowled really well and built the pressure.”
Despite securing their first win of the tournament, Athapaththu was not pleased with the team’s batting performance as SL were at 174-5 in the 32nd over and added just 28 more. “The way we batted, I’m not happy because we had a good start, but didn’t continue.”
“One more game left [in the World Cup, against Pakistan], we [will] try our best, play our best game in the next game and try to beat Pakistan, finishing [on a] high. If a miracle happens [in terms of qualification for the semi-finals], let’s see,” she added.
Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana, who scored 77 off 98 balls, said: “It’s really heartbreaking, because we came here to win. We [have now] played three close games – against England, South Africa and now Sri Lanka. We need to think about it and learn so many things about this kind of situation – how we should calm our nerves and how we should get runs. The young players have been playing in the middle at crucial moments, so I think they should learn.”
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