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Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu plays a shot during the T20 World Cup match against New Zealand
Amelia Kerr of New Zealand poses after being named Player of the Match against Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Women team captain Chamari Athapaththu said that her team did not handle pressure very well and that led to their crushing 102-run defeat by New Zealand in a crucial ICC Women’s T20 World Cup match played at Paarl on Sunday. The margin of defeat was the second biggest in T20 World Cup history.
The result meant that Sri Lanka lost their chance of qualifying for a place in the semi-finals. Sri Lanka were routed for 60 in reply to New Zealand’s total of 162-3 and Athapaththu explaining her team’s meek capitulation said: “I’m a little bit worried about today’s game because it was very open for both teams and a very crucial game for us. We had to stick with our plans and use our experience.
“I feel some of the girls in my team take too much pressure on their shoulders, so I think they didn’t handle that pressure very well, especially the bowling department. We also dropped a couple of catches and the batting department struggled a lot in the first six overs. That’s why we lost.”
“The execution is the most important thing in this game because we can plan a lot of things but we have to execute that plan in the middle. I talked to my team and said don’t take too much pressure on your shoulders, play your natural game, because I have a lot of youngsters, who have not played a lot of cricket. But they put too much pressure on their shoulders.”
Speaking further Athapaththu said that the defeat and failing to qualify was not the end of the world for her team.
“Definitely, after this kind of game, the mentality of the players will go down because a lot of youngsters think we lost the game, we lost a place in the semi-finals. But as a senior player, and as captain, I always defend them. I encourage them, this is not a world end.
“Again, the sun will shine tomorrow, so I don’t want to blame them. My focus is the next game, the next tour, I want to build a good team for the future. I know today was a bit hard, the feeling is not good, but we stick with our plans for the next game.”
Athapaththu said there was no necessity for any changes but the players must play positive cricket and learn to handle the pressure.
“Normally our average score is 120-125, it’s not enough for the T20 format. We should try to score 150-160. We have to improve our batting a little bit, the bowling department is really good - not today, and we have to improve our fielding. We have a one month off-period before Bangladesh comes to us. Hope we can rectify our mistakes by then.”
Athapaththu said that she hopes to play for another one or two years for Sri Lanka before quitting, but before that she wants to build a good team for the future.
“A lot of youngsters come in, so I want to encourage them to be a role model and always try to lead them from the front. That’s my goal.”
Scores
