With tournament on the line, SL’s Athapaththu looks within for answers

It’s because Sri Lanka, coming off a historic first-ever series win against England and a maiden Asia Cup triumph, are now on the brink of elimination following big losses to Pakistan and Australia. Athapaththu’s own contributions in those games? Scores of three and six.

On Wednesday, Sri Lanka will play their first game in Dubai with everything on the line. While it’s likely even two wins from here may not be enough to make the semi-finals, they’re approaching the India game with more questions than answers.

“We can’t complain about the conditions as batters,” Athapaththu stated emphatically when asked about the prospect of playing in Dubai after two straight games on Sharjah slow-burns. “We have to play our best cricket, and we have to adapt; that is the most important thing.

“I saw Nat Sciver-Brunt, how she played [against South Africa] and even Laura [Wolvaardt] and South African batters. So, we can’t blame anyone. Actually, I ask same question to myself: why can’t I play? I have to answer it myself how I can play in the next game. As a batter I love that challenge. I challenge myself and I want to play my best cricket in the next two games.”

Wanting to emulate Sciver-Brunt is a conversation not just for Athapaththu, but the entire batting unit. Barring Nilakshika Silva, who made 23 and 29 in the two games, none of the other batters have even given themselves a chance to get in. This reflects in Sri Lanka’s 85 for 9 and 93 for 7 in their two innings – disappointing even after factoring in tough batting conditions in Sharjah.

“First, I asked myself in my room why I can’t play, because I always see the games and I always analyse them,” Athapaththu said. “The next day, I talked to a few batters, but I don’t want to put too much pressure on them.

“I talked to a few, and because they have good experience, so I said to them: ‘if Tazmin Brits can play, if Laura can play, why can’t we play?’ So I said we have to rethink, and adaptation is most important. And we have to ask from each and every one why we can’t play that cricket.

“I saw South Africans adjust to these conditions, really good. The important thing is how we play. To be at our best, we have to play fearless cricket. And the most important thing is one ball at a time. If we take too much pressure on our shoulders, if we take too much information, it’s too hard to play cricket. So we have to keep it simple and play fearless cricket.”

Athapaththu will have happy memories from her previous meeting with them: a 43-ball 61 in Sri Lanka’s historic chase of 166 to win the Asia Cup. But going into Wednesday’s clash, Athapaththu admits indecision has hampered her own game and hopes she’d be able to take on the role of an aggressor, like she usually does.

“Actually, in the first game, the first over I scored a boundary against Sadia Iqbal. When I just hit the ball and it went so fast, I felt, ‘oh, the wicket is so good.’ Because when Pakistan played, the wicket was a little bit slow and low. But when I played that first shot, I felt, ‘no, the wicket is really good.’

“I think that thing affected me [her thinking] and I lost my wicket in the next over. Because when Fatima Sana bowled, I felt ‘okay, so the wicket is good, I can trust the wicket and I just play’ but I’d made the mistake.

“In the next game [against Australia], I felt the wicket was a little bit slow, so I took my time. Then I felt, ‘okay, I will take time’, and suddenly it was different. So, I just want to play my natural game freely.”

Athapaththu was asked if this was Sri Lanka’s best opportunity to sting an Indian team that has had its own share of batting struggles that could potentially leave them in a net run rate scenario in a tight Group A. She chose to look inward.

“Yeah but same thing for us,” she said of the batting struggles. “We are not scoring many runs either. So, yeah I think the both teams have struggled. I feel like the Indian team is so good on wickets with pace and bounce, even my team.

“Because we don’t have big arms, big bodies to hit the ball so hard, we need some kind of pace and support from the wicket, because we are really good with timing the ball compared to other teams So, I feel both teams are struggling.

“I know it’s big pressure for both teams, but our team has nothing to lose. We are going with the underdog tag all the time. So we [want to] keep it simple and I want to play my best cricket and fearless cricket all the time.”