Sri Lanka demolish Ireland on the back of Chamari Athapaththu master-class. ‘Captain fantastic’⁹ rises to give Lankans a whiff at semi-final possibility. BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (eLanka Sports Editor)
It may have been said and echoed a few hundred times, but Sri Lanka’s heroic skipper Chamari Athapaththu’s name will be heard and discussed for years after she walks away from the game.
With Sri Lanka’s hopes of making an impression swiftly fading again in the ongoing World Cup in England, up steps ‘captain fantastic’ to breathe new hope of them moving to the next stage with a magnificent century to steer them past Ireland without raising a sweat.
Athapaththu’s fighting spirit refuses to be curtailed when the chips are down as she has, time and time again, and it was no different as she singlehandedly swung the game in Sri Lanka’s favour to give them two wins and two losses in a tough group.
The contrasts prior to this game was significant after Sri Lanka were thrashed by West Indies a few days ago while Ireland figured in two close matches against England and New Zealand.
Fully aware of the challenge ahead, and refusing to be demoralised by the West Indian mauling, Athapaththu waded into Ireland’s attack and ripped them apart racing to 50 off 29 balls then 106 from 61 deliveries giving Sri Lanka an emphatic 9-wicket victory with 27 balls remaining.
Athapaththu slammed 2 sixers and 17 fours in her magnificent knock which also made her the fourth centurion in women’s World Cup cricket behind Australia’s Meg Lanning, 126 off 65 balls, West Indian Deandra Dottin, 112 off 45 deliveries, and England skipper Heather Knight 108 off 66. Athapaththu’s 106 not out follows off 61 balls putting her in famous company.
Sri Lanka have shown marked improvement in the women’s game of late but have been bugged by inconsistency. Beating New Zealand then getting towelled by the Windies is a case in point.
But unlike in the past, their batting no longer rests on Athapaththu’s shoulders alone with some bright new stars emerging from their midst.
But when Chamari fails at the top, more often than not they struggle to consolidate against better teams. England recently admitted plotting all their plans against Sri Lanka by devising ploys to unravel and contain Athapaththu’s input. So does most teams over the years.
Sri Lanka went into the game with a plan to curtail Ireland’s batting which can be dangerous of they get going.
The bowler’s did a magnificent job in this respect. But it was a disastrous start that gave Sri Lanka initial impetus. Opener Amy Hunter was run out in the fourth ball by Wicket keeper Kaushini Nuthyangana without a run on the board, followed by the stumping of Orla Prendergast for a duck off Sugandika Kumari leaving Ireland reeling at 2 for 3.
Irish skipper Gabby Lewis then launched a salvage operation blasting her way to 59 off 50 balls and found some assistance along the way until captain courageous Athapaththu clean bowled her to peg them back to a gettable 130 for 5 wickets in their allotment.
At 4 for 85 in 14 overs, the writing was on the wall for Ireland. But not to the demoralising Athapaththu onslaught that followed.
Sri Lanka’s attack led by Sukandika Kumari, Nithali Ayodhya, Chamari Athapaththu and Nilakshika Silva did a remarkable job with the ball to make the batters task easy.
Sri Lanka set about the chase like a house on fire led by Athapaththu and opening partner Imesha Dulani, 20 off 27 balls as the raced to 98 off 72 balls before Prendergast separated them by bowling Dulani in the 12th over.
It did nothing to stop the Athapaththu hurricane that rocketed Sri Lanka to a fabulous victory that breathed new life into their world cup campaign albeit on beating Scotland comprehensively in the final game and hoping England win comfortably over West Indies in their next match.
After the match, Athapaththu reflected on her performances a in England and her Player-of-the-match award singling Bristol as one of her favourite venues. “I love playing at this ground’, she said.
So far, Sri Lanka have never made a meaningful showing on the big stage but a semi-final berth beckons for the Islanders who will be praying for things to fall into place as reward to a fantastic player and captain.
