Colombo, Oct 3: Sri Lanka will hope to make the most of home conditions and iron out their batting and fielding woes against a formidable Australia in their second match of the ICC Women’s World Cup here on Saturday.
The hosts bowled well in their opening game against India but paid the price for sloppy fielding and a string of soft dismissals.
Despite nine batters reaching double digits, Sri Lanka failed to capitalise on the starts, eventually collapsing to 211 all out in 45.4 overs.
Skipper Chamari Athapaththu and her team will now face a stern challenge in the form of defending champions Australia, who opened their campaign with a dominant win over New Zealand.
Australia showcased their batting depth in the opener, recovering from 128 for 5 to post a mammoth 326 thanks to Ashleigh Gardner’s counter-attacking 115 and a valuable lower-order contribution from Kim Garth at No. 9.
With the likes of Beth Mooney, Phoebe Litchfield and captain Alyssa Healy at the top, the Aussies boast an enviable batting line-up that allows them to play with freedom and aggression.
Their bowling unit, too, fired in unison, with pacer Annabel Sutherland claiming three wickets in a single over. Leg-spinner Alana King and left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux can apply pressure during the middle overs.
For Sri Lanka, the challenge will be immense, and only a disciplined and consistent effort across all three departments will could them a chance against the seven-time champions. (PTI)
