Mumbai: Sri Lanka on Tuesday shocked India by beating the hosts out of the ICC Women’s World Cup and earned a place in the Super Six stage of the mega event after winning the in the final Group A match by a massive 138 runs at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai.
India, on the other hand, will now have to travel to Cuttack to play a seventh place play-off against Pakistan on Thursday, 7 February.
A dejected India captain Mithali Raj later said: “I think honestly 280 is something I didn't expect Sri Lanka to score with the kind of bowling attack we had. When we chase a big total it is very important to a have very good start. We lost an early wicket and then as we built a partnership between me and Thrirush Kamini, things went wrong. Then we lost Harmanpreet and that's where I thought the match turned (in their favour).”
Raj was particularly disappointed with the bowling at the death. “The Sri Lankans scored most of their runs square off the wicket. All the bowlers were off colour today. I guess we can expect one or two to be off colour but not all of them. I won’t say it was complacency, but I had a lot of faith in my bowlers. The kind of attack I had I felt 282 was a lot.’’
Raj said that the first target was always 283 but later the team revised it to 251 to qualify. “Our first intention when we went to bat was to chase 283, but as we lost wickets that definitely played in the players’ mind. All of them were aware of the 251 target.”
Raj was still hopeful about the future. “There are a lot of positives we can take from the young players like Kamini, Poonam, Harmanpreet and Karuna Jain. It is disappointing to be out of the tournament as the host team, but these girls in the future will perform well for India.”
Raj did not want to look ahead to the seventh place play-off against Pakistan. “I can’t comment on that. I am not in a position to think about that game.”
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka captain Siriwardena was thrilled by the result for her team. “This is a very comfortable win but it is the first time we are beating India after 18 matches. It is a special victory.
“I can’t believe it actually. It is a dream come true for us. We finished last in 2009 under my captaincy. We have improved after the last World Cup, especially in our batting. So I am really relaxed and relieved. I got a call from my home and they are really excited. Also Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapakse called which really made my day.”
Siriwardena explained how the team regrouped after the loss against West Indies. “We did not field well against West Indies. We wanted to bring in players who are good fielders. We had to remove No 3 batter Prasadini. Coach and management talked about it and we wanted to promote Rasangika. She had batted really well in the domestic season at No 3.”
Siriwardena regarded this win as the biggest moment in her career, also her first day-night match as a Sri Lanka player.
“Yes (it is my biggest achievement), I am seriously super happy. This could be my last World Cup, and I wanted to do something special for the team. We are the only team from Asia to have qualified for the Super Six. So I think more people from India will like us winning (from) now (on).”