Sana Mir backs Sri Lanka and Scotland to surprise at Women’s T20 World Cup

Sana believed that skipper Athapaththu formed the backbone of the side, and a good run from her can lift the island nation’s fortunes in the event. Athapaththu, the leading run scorer for Sri Lanka in the ODI and T20I formats, also starred in the Qualifier final with a match-winning century.

“Despite a tough group comprising Australia, India, Pakistan, and New Zealand, Sri Lanka have the potential to cause upsets and if Athapaththu can deliver in Bangladesh they may surprise a lot of followers of the game and maybe even make it to the semis there.”

Equally impressive was Scotland’s run, who barring their two losses to Sri Lanka, had an inspirational run in the Qualifier. Their high point came in the win over Ireland in the semi-finals, which sealed their spot in the T20 World Cup.

Sana credited Scotland skipper Kathryn Bryce for their performance, and believed that given the right kind of preparation, they could pull off a similar result in Bangladesh. Before missing out the final due to a strain, Kathryn gave a prolific performance for her side, scoring 177 runs at an average of 88.5, while also picking nine wickets at 6.88.