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Aussies focused on stopping Sri Lanka's run-machine

With three hundreds in her last seven innings against the defending champs, Chamari Athapaththu is clearly the prized wicket in the Sri Lankan line-up

How do you solve a problem like Chamari Athapaththu?

That is the question that will be at the forefront of Australia's minds heading into today's T20 World Cup clash against Sri Lanka at the WACA Ground.

Removing the hard-hitting Sri Lanka captain cheaply will be key for Meg Lanning's team as they seek to bounce back from their first-up defeat to India last Friday, but if there are two things Athapaththu loves, it's scoring runs in Australia, and against Australia.

The left-handed opener has scored three centuries in her last seven innings against Australia, including twin tons during her team's tour of this country last September-October; a 66-ball 113 in the first T20 International at North Sydney Oval, followed by 103 from 124 deliveries in the final ODI in Brisbane.

Sept 2019: Athapaththu stuns with maiden T20I ton


Her other epic knock, an unbeaten 178, came in Bristol during the 2017 ODI World Cup.

Sri Lanka started their tournament on a disappointing note in Perth on Saturday night when they suffered a seven-wicket loss to New Zealand, but Athapaththu displayed an early liking for the WACA wicket, striking 41 from 30 deliveries before hitting a return catch to Kiwi quick Lea Tahuhu.

That followed her stunning 50-ball 78 not out in a warm-up game against England in Adelaide last week, which set up a 10-wicket upset win for her side and left Heather Knight's team humbled.

"I love to play in these conditions, they're good tracks for batters, with good pace and bounce," Athapaththu told reporters in Perth on Wednesday, saying she believed a total of 160 would be par at the WACA on Monday.

"When I play against Australia, I play my best cricket.

"I try to play my best cricket against every team, but I love these conditions and I love to play with the pressure (of playing against Australia) so that's why I score against them.

"I say to myself to play freely and with courage, and that's it."

No panic, no dwelling, bring on Sri Lanka, says Lanning


In six limited-overs matches in Australia last year, Athapaththu hit 289 runs at 48.17.

Her next most prolific teammate was Harshitha Madavi, who hit 125 at 25. No other batter scored more than 83 runs in total for the tour, while Athapaththu (122.3) was the only batter to strike above 90 in the 20-over format.

Sri Lanka came into the tournament as the world's eighth-ranked T20I team and they have never beaten Australia, but in a format where one player can take the game away, Australia vice-captain Rachael Haynes said there was no risk the tournament hosts would take their rivals lightly.

"We played Sri Lanka at the start of our summer and she got a hundred against us so we know how dangerous she can be," Haynes said of Athapaththu.

"So we'll plan for her, at the WACA too I think she'll enjoy the ball coming on to the bat but we've certainly got some ideas of how we want to counter her attack and how damaging she can be.

"In saying that, we want to respect their whole team because they're a dangerous side and they're capable of pushing us and putting us under pressure."

Just seven Australian wickets fell across those three T20Is last year, and again it was Athapaththu leading the way as Sri Lanka's most prolific bowler, claiming three scalps at 34.33 with her off-spin.

But in Athapaththu's eyes, her biggest weapon with the ball comes in the form of left-arm pace bowler Udeshika Prabodhani.

The 34-year-old was Sri Lanka's most economical bowler against Australia last year, despite collecting just three wickets across both limited-overs formats.

"She's the best bowler in Sri Lanka and she has a lot of experience," Athapaththu said.

"We call her 'the silent killer'.

"There are few left-arm fast bowlers in the world and we have one."

The showdown between Australia and Sri Lanka will get underway at 3pm local time (6pm AEDT) on Monday, with coverage on 9Gem, Fox Cricket, Kayo and ABC radio.

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

February 21:India won by 17 runs

February 24: Australia v Sri Lanka, WACA Ground

February 27: Australia v Bangladesh, Manuka Oval 

March 2: Australia v New Zealand, Junction Oval

March 5: Semi-final 1 & Semi-final 2, SCG

March 8: Final, MCG

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE

* All matches will be broadcast on Fox Cricket and Kayo, while Australia’s matches will also be broadcast on the Nine Network