Athapaththu credits 'good bowling attack' for first win
Sri Lanka managed just 97/7 with the bat, but then bundled out Bangladesh for 72 to seal a 25-run win at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St Lucia on Wednesday, 14 November.
Athapaththu herself starred with the ball, taking 3/17 from three overs, and was helped by Shashikala Siriwardene's 2/10 and Udeshika Prabodani's 2/6 as Bangladesh were dismissed in 20 overs.
SL v BAN: Full match highlights
With a semi-final berth still a possibility, Sri Lanka's next match against the hosts, Windies, who beat South Africa in another low-scoring tie, could be the decider for the Asian nation.
"We won this match, but we have another match, next match against the West Indies. That is a very important match," Athapaththu said. "But we don't have (any) pressure. Just play our normal game and positive cricket. This is one game for us."
SL v BAN: Post-match presentation
Sri Lanka failed to cross the 100-run mark with the bat – Player of the Match Siriwardene top-scored with 31 – and for a while, it looked an easy chase for Bangladesh, but Athapaththu revealed their target was actually in the 120-region.
"Actually our plan was (to get) 120, 125, but unfortunately, we could not score 125. We were behind in (terms of) runs," she said.
SL v BAN: Bangladesh's Salma Khatun dismissed by Shashikala Siriwardana
"The Bangladesh bowlers bowled really well. We all know they have a good bowling attack, good spinners, and the conditions were not good for the batters. (They are good) for the spinners.
"So we tried 120, but unfortunately, we couldn't score that. We lost a couple wickets early, so we re-set our goal for 100-110. But we stopped at 97."
SL v BAN: How the Bangladesh wickets fell
Athapaththu had special praise for Prabodani, who dismissed the Bangladesh openers, and gave Sri Lanka the all-important breakthroughs early in the innings.
"Actually, Udeshika was really good. She got two wickets early, and the pressure was on Bangladesh," said Athapaththu. "That's why we could defend the (sub) 100 score. Special thanks goes to Udeshika. She's the No. 1 bowler."