Sri Lanka women out to bounce back against India today

Sri Lanka women’s cricket team led by Chamari Athapaththu wanted to come back with a good batting display when they take on India in their third T-20 world cup cricket fixture today at Dubai International cricket stadium commencing at 7.30 pm (Sri Lanka time).

Sri Lanka already lost to Pakistan by 31 runs and in their second game lost to Australia by six wickets and in both matches Sri Lanka batters were not up to expectations and this was the main issue for Sri Lanka. Skipper Chamari Athapaththu was able to score 6 against Pakistan and only 3 runs against Australia The young Vishmi Gunaratne also failed which put more pressure on Sri Lanka middle order.

Skipper Chamari said we played good cricket in the last two months but unfortunately, we lost against Pakistan and Australia in the first two games and now we have very slight chance to reach the semi finals but more important is to fight back in next two matches.

Actually we have struggled a little bit in both previous gamer . But we cannot complain about these things and we have to play positive cricket all the time. The batting unit is dependent on the first three or -four batters including myself so the rest of the batters have struggled in this competition. 

Sri Lanka played both losing matches at Sharjah and first time they will play at Dubai Stadium today. We have to play positive and fearless cricket, and hopefully the conditions will be good for us, and I hope our girls will perform in Dubai said Sri Lanka skipper Chamari

Meanwhile It has not been smooth sailing for the Indians in the showpiece event so far, having lost to New Zealand by 58 runs in their tournament-opener and then scampering home in 18.5 overs against arch-rivals Pakistan while chasing a modest 105. Sri Lanka and India met each other in the Asia Cup final when India lost to Sri Lanka to take maiden Asia Cup at Dambulla.

India also having batting issue in their previous two games and they also expected to come back with good batting display in this Sri Lanka game. Especially the explosive opening combination of Shafali Verma and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana were not up to expectations in both games . While Shafali scored just 2 and 32 in the first two games, Mandhana also fared poorly managing 12 and 7 runs. To make matters worse for India, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who scored 15 and 29 retired hurt, is a doubtful starter forr this match after suffering a neck injury while batting against Pakistan. The likes of Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh too need to step up with the bat and share the burden of responsibility.

India opener Shafali Verma admitted that Sri Lanka are no longer only dependent on their skipper Chamari Athapaththu. “There was a time when Chamari was the one scoring most of the runs and taking wickets, but in the Asia Cup, her entire team performed well. They’ve improved a lot, which is why they won the cup,” Shafali has said.

Chamari carries the pressure of being a key player, and it’s inspiring to see how she handles it and performs for her country.” India pacer Renuka Singh also knows how important it is to dismiss the Sri Lankan skipper cheaply as she can take the game away in a flash with her audacious strokeplay.

“Chamari Athapaththu is very interesting. She’s the only one from Sri Lanka who takes the team to the other side. I try to get her out as soon as possible because if she is set, she can take over the match. So, I have a plan on how to get her out,” Renuka has said.

Indian medium pacer Arundhati Reddy sparkled against Pakistan with the ball, returning figures of 3/19, she would look for more support from the likes of fellow pace colleagues Renuka Singh and Pooja Vastrakar, who didn’t play the previous game because of an injury.

The Indian team relies heavily on Deepti Sharma in the spin department but she hasn’t struck form in the tournament so far.

India will not only need to win but record a victory big enough against Sri Lanka to boost their Net Run Rate (NRR) before the do-or-die league game against defending champions Australia on October 13.