Women’s cricket in Sri Lanka could receive a massive shot in the arm if Chamari Atapattu’s side can make a deep run in the ongoing Women’s World Cup in England and Wales. While their campaign got off to a forgettable start with an 87-run thrashing at the hands of hosts England, the Sri Lankans bounced back in spectacular fashion, producing the biggest upset of the tournament so far by toppling defending champions New Zealand.
Sunday’s clash against West Indies is pivotal. A victory in Bristol would keep Sri Lanka’s semi-final hopes very much alive. Reaching the last four of a global event remains uncharted territory for Sri Lanka Women and should they get there, it would mark the first time in 12 years that a Sri Lankan team has reached the semi-finals of an ICC event.
There is still plenty of work to be done. Ireland and Scotland remain to be negotiated and those fixtures are by no means foregone conclusions. Yet, there is a growing sense that this team has come of age and is no longer content with merely making up the numbers. They have reached a stage where they are capable of going toe to toe with the best.
The biggest reason for that transformation is that the burden no longer rests solely on the shoulders of captain Chamari Atapattu. Top-order batters Harsitha Samarawickrama and Vishmi Gunaratne have emerged as dependable performers, while in the middle order veteran Nilakshika Silva has embraced the finisher’s role to perfection.
Likewise, a bowling attack that once relied almost entirely on spin has developed genuine pace options. The seamers have added both speed and discipline to their armoury and their improvement over the last couple of years has been remarkable. All these ingredients combine to give you the feeling that this side is on the cusp of something special.
The numbers favour West Indies. Of the 29 T20Is between the two sides, the former champions have won 20 while Sri Lanka have managed just seven victories. But recent history tells a different story. Sri Lanka enjoyed success in the Caribbean earlier this year, winning both the ODI and T20I bilateral series and they head into Sunday’s contest with confidence rather than fear.
Despite the growing excitement, Chamari was quick to stress the importance of taking things one game at a time.
“We had a good game against New Zealand, but this is a fresh challenge. We have prepared well and had three days of training in Bristol. We are confident going into the game, but we should not look too far ahead. In this format every team is dangerous and we need to take one game at a time,” she told reporters.
“It was a brilliant effort by Nilakshika Silva against New Zealand because we were under pressure. There are other batters in the side who are yet to fire and we are in a good frame of mind that they will come good as the tournament progresses,” Atapattu added.
Sri Lanka will continue their stay in Bristol after Sunday’s encounter as their next Group ‘B’ fixture, against Ireland on Tuesday, will also be played here. They then head north to Manchester for their final group game against Scotland, with hopes of extending their stay in England even further
