Women’s T20 World Cup. West Indies beat Sri Lanka by five wickets to remain unbeaten Cricket News:
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu admitted his side paid the price for a poor batting display after suffering a five-wicket defeat by West Indies in their Women’s T20 World Cup clash in Bristol. Chasing just 99, the unbeaten West Indies side returned home with 23 balls to spare, leaving Sri Lanka with two losses from three matches.The damage was done early as Sri Lanka slipped to 9/3 in the powerplay and never recovered, eventually being bowled out for 98. Athapathu felt the conditions were challenging, but said his side failed to adjust and execute their plans with the bat.“The wicket was a bit sticky today, and the ball was a bit sticky too, with the tennis ball bouncing. So I feel West Indies bowled according to their plans and the conditions. We didn’t execute our plans on the power play. We lost two wickets early, and throughout the game we struggled as a batting unit. So I feel we need to get 140 plus, otherwise we cannot defend against this West Indies team. But unfortunately, we lost two wickets and we struggled a lot in the middle,” he said after the match.Although West Indies comfortably reached the target, Sri Lanka’s bowlers claimed five wickets and briefly slowed the chase. Athapaththu was quick to defend his bowling attack, insisting that lack of pace was the biggest issue.“Sure our bowlers bowled the right line and length, but some extras were given there too, so the thing is, 100 is not enough to defend. So we need to get more runs, otherwise we can’t blame the players,” he added.
Semi-final hopes hang by a thread
Athapaththu singled out the bowling unit as one of the positives from the match but stressed that improvements with the bat are urgently needed.“Our bowling department has done a very good job for us, but we need to improve our batting before the next game,” said Athapaththu.Sri Lanka now face a must-win situation, with wins over Ireland and Scotland vital to keep their semi-final hopes alive.
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