Fatima Sana and Chamari Athapaththu both looked to the future after a frustrating day in Colombo saw Pakistan and Sri Lanka end their ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 campaigns with a washout.
Just 4.2 overs were bowled in between heavy showers, with Pakistan reaching 18 without loss in a match reduced to 34 overs before the rain intervened again.
Pakistan end the competition winless, with three points gained from no results, though they had two of the semi-finalists, Australia and England, in deep trouble during earlier group matches.
They looked well set for an upset over England when the elements halted their pursuit of 113 with Pakistan on 34 for no wicket. Then they had the reigning champions 76 for seven before Beth Mooney’s century got Australia out of jail.
“We were very good on the bowling and fielding side but we were lacking in the batting,” Fatima said.
“In a couple of matches, we were up to a very good mark and very close against Australia and England but unfortunately we did not cross the line.
“As captain, these matches give me a boost to take from this World Cup. The weather didn’t go in our favour in the England match and in our last couple of matches.
“We have not played much cricket in the recent past, we need much more cricket in between World Cups.
“In the next year, we have a T20 World Cup so hopefully we can prepare ourselves for the big events.
“As a young captain, you have to believe in yourself and hopefully we will be a much stronger team at the next World Cups.”
Sri Lanka’s point took them to fifth, with one win from their seven matches – a thrilling seven-run victory over Bangladesh.
Skipper Athapaththu rued the regular rain in Colombo, with Sri Lanka also seeing three of their games washed out but is optimistic her side are moving in the right direction.
“As a team, expectations were high for this World Cup but we lost our first game against India and another game against England when we made a lot of mistakes in the field,” she said.
“We have good young players and good senior players; the senior players are always giving advice to the youngsters.
“As captain, I am trying to free the girls and encourage them to play positive cricket. We have a good domestic structure, we are playing a lot of cricket in Sri Lanka now, so hopefully we can be a strong team in the future.
“Compared to South Africa, India, New Zealand, these three teams we have beaten in the last 12 months and we beat England in England in the T20 format.
“We need to grow a little bit as when we come to the long format, we need to play our natural game. I think we are very close to the top four teams but we need to improve.”
Scores in brief
Pakistan v Sri Lanka – R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Pakistan 18/0 in 4.2 overs (Omaima Sohail 9 not out, Muneeba Ali 7 not out; Malki Madara 0/3, Sugandika Kumari 0/15)
Sri Lanka did not bat
Result: Match abandoned
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