|
ICC
Women’s World Cup in Australia
Must
win game for Lanka against India
Dhammika
Ratnaweera reporting from Australia
Sri Lanka who suffered a shock defeat from Pakistan
at the Manuka Oval grounds on Monday have a do-or-die
battle on their hands against India at Bankstown Oval
grounds, Sydney on Thursday (March 12) to earn a place
in the ICC Women’s World Cup Super Six. Their chances
of entering the Super Six look very slim after the loss
to Pakistan.
If Sri Lanka is to enter the Super Six they will need
to beat the tough Indian side with a bonus point. Pakistan
lost to India by ten wickets in their opening game and
they fought back strongly to defeat Sri Lanka by 54
runs with ten overs to spare.
Sri Lanka skipper Shashikala Siriwardena speaking to
The Bottom Line said: “I never expected this defeat.
We’ve won against Pakistan on the previous 18 occasions
and this is the first time we have lost to them. Pakistani
bowlers bowled with a lot of confidence and they outclassed
us. As captain I scored 54 runs but others failed to
impress with the bat. That was the main reason why we
lost this important game.”
Once again Sri Lanka’s running between the wickets
was very poor with three run outs including that of
Siriwardena. Much was expected of openers Dedunu de
Silva and Chamari Polgampola but when they got out early
experienced Hiruka Fernando also could not make an impression
being dismissed for one.
“I think we had to bat much better to chase the
161 runs target but it was not our day. We failed in
all three departments,” said Siriwardena who played
the anchor role for her side.
“Our fielding was not up to expectations and our
bowlers especially the opening bowlers were not up to
the mark. Sripali Weerakkody bowled several wides in
both matches. The fielders missed a few catches and
we also had run outs. You can’t make such mistakes
in one day cricket. I hope we learn from them and give
a good account of ourselves against India,” said
Siriwardena.
Sri Lanka has beaten India only once in one-day contests
between the two countries.
India who lost to England will be hoping to bounce back
to defeat Sri Lanka and ensure their place in the Super
Six. If Sri Lanka loses to India it will be the first
time they fail to qualify for the Super Six. They will
then have to play for the 7th or 8th place game in North
Sydney on March 15 and fly back home the following day.
|
