Chamari Athapaththu leads Lanka to stunning upset in World Cup opener over hosts South Africa. – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE
Chamari Athapaththu found timely form to blast South Africa into submission as the Sri Lankans provided the first upset of the Women’s World Cup.
In the curtain raiser designed to kick- start the host nation’s hopes of lifting the prestigious event, South Africa reckoned without the dynamic Sri Lanka skipper whose form on the recent past has not been upto her lofty capability.
Athapaththu smashed a player-of-the-match 68 off 50 balls to get Sri Lanka to a par total of 130 before Sri Lanka’s spinners led by Inika Ranaweera 3 for 18 off four economical overs aided by Inoka Ranasinghe 2 for 20 off 4, and Sugandika Kumari 2 for 28 off 4, strangled the strong South African batting as the visitors clung on to a pulsating and famous 3-run win.
The talented Sri Lankan spinner grabbed the crucial wickets of Laura Wolvaardt, 18, Marianne Kapp, 11 and South African skipper Sune Luua, 28 to rip the heart out of the South African response.
The win by Sri Lanka opened up hopes for the lesser teams to dream big and realise that anything is possible in this format of the game.
Sri Lanka’s win opens up possibilities of them making an unlikely top four but the challenges ahead are harder in their tough group. They have Australia, New Zealand and Bangladesh ahead in what now becomes a interesting scenario.
As long as Athapaththu is able to provide her purple patch with the bat, Sri Lanka is always a chance to deliver the unthinkable. She is always the main target of opposing teams with the rest of Sri Lanka’s batting brittle and inconsistent.
Sri Lanka, under new coach Rumesh Ratnayake, have shown tremendous improvement in the short time he has been at the helm. They are bound to get better under his astute guidance after his previous stints with the men’s team in different capacities. His Input will be invaluable.
From a Sri Lankan perspective, it all lies on the able shoulders of their skipper to deliver when it matters. She has been the soul gladiator for many years carrying the burden of responsibility with aplomb.
