India lock horns with Sri Lanka in must-win WC match

PTI: After suffering a 32-run loss against defending champions England, Mithali Raj led Indian team would have to pull up their socks before locking horns with Sri Lanka in a must-win game for both the teams in ICC Women’s World Cup at the Brabourne Stadium on Tuesday.

With all the teams in Group A having won a match each, the hosts would try to keep their dreams afloat in the series, by winning the crucial league game tomorrow, if they want to qualify for the knock out stages. After a comprehensive 105-run win against West Indies in the opener, the Indian eves struggled to chase down England’s target of 272 yesterday. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, had caused the biggest upset of the tournament with their last-ball win against England but in their second match they lost to West Indies by 209 runs yesterday.

India has maintained a clean sheet against Sri Lanka in their 17 matches so far, winning 16 of them, while one was a no result. “If we have to go inside the super six, next game is do or die for us. We are not going to take Sri Lanka lightly because on such wickets especially, it could be anybody’s game. They have done well against England. I am hoping that our team puts on a good effort as usual,” Indian skipper Mithali Raj said.

Her Sri Lankan counterpart Shashikala Siriwardena said her team has no option but to win the match against India. “The net run rate will be a problem that’s why we have no option but to go and win the match against India,” she said.

As per the format, one team from the group is eliminated and a loss to India will dent Sri Lanka’s dreams, with West Indies playing England in the other game to be held in the morning at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Bandra Kurla Complex ground. The two teams have a higher net run rate than Sri Lanka.

"We will try and learn from mistakes (we committed against West Indies). We will try to win the next match (against India on 5 February),” she said.