IND women vs SL women: Sri Lanka’s stuttering start to the tournament, losing to Pakistan and then defending champions Australia, has put huge pressure on them to contend in the competitive Group A. Captain Chamari Athapaththu recognizes the urgency for her to get her team out of this disjointed period, especially with a crucial game against India on the horizon at Dubai.

India also badly needs a win, having lost their opener against New Zealand. Athapaththu feels India’s predicament is because of the conditions under which they are playing. “I know India are a good team with some powerful batters but, I feel Shafali (Verma) and Smriti (Mandhana) have faced problems due to low bounce and pace,” she said at the press conference on Tuesday.

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She noted Jemimah Rodrigues as one of the players in contention for India and said she was surprisingly great on this challenging wicket. “We have devised a few plans for the Indian batters. Harman (Harmanpreet Kaur) performed well in the last game, showing her ability to adapt, which poses a considerable challenge for us.”.

Frankly, batting seems to be the area of concern department that failed in becoming a one-in-a-million performance by their batting team, which India counter-replied with all ten wickets against Pakistan in the Group A tournament. For what it is worth, she again added that both of them went through similar problems on that very pitch and still managed.

Both the teams are struggling, but India does extraordinarily well with pace and bounce, as do we. But we have less powerplay and more on timing, so we would require support from the wicket, she explained. “This game is crucial for both India and Sri Lanka. It’s going to be the best team that will win, and we have got to keep our approach simple,” said Athapaththu.

Sri Lanka has yet to take matches into triple digits and it is with a view of technical upgrades that Athapaththu has tried drawing inspiration from the adaptability of South Africa. “We need to rethink our strategies and ensure each player understands how to thrive under such conditions,” she said.

Not that much. Because we have been under pressure because we have not played well. However, we remain confident in the belief that our team should play with bold confidence. “We are often seen as underdogs, having beaten India only once or twice in the last 12 to 15 months. I want us to play our best and most fearless cricket.

With net run rate likely coming into play at the end, both teams know that a win is pivotal. As for Athapaththu, she took up the criticism that came India’s way for not bettering their net run rate with this win over Pakistan. “I feel they concentrate more on getting points rather than run rate,” she observed. “They’ll play simple cricket to win the game.”.

Upcoming Fixtures In Group A:

India vs Sri Lanka – Wednesday, October 9 (14:00 local time), Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Australia vs Pakistan – Friday, October 11 (18:00 local time), Dubai International Cricket Stadium

New Zealand vs Sri Lanka – Saturday, October 12 (14:00 local time), Sharjah Cricket Stadium

India vs Australia – Sunday, October 13 (18:00 local time), Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Pakistan vs New Zealand – Monday, October 14 (18:00 local time), Dubai International Cricket Stadium

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