Lea Tahuhu picked up a 4-wicket haul and Suzie Bates anchored the New Zealand chase as the White Ferns took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match series against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Sophie Devine won her 5th toss of tour and had no hesitation in bowling first once again at the P Sara Oval. Sri Lanka started cautiously, but a horrible mix-up between Sri Lankan openers Chamari Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne in the 3rd over of the game saw Athapaththu back in the pavilion for 2.
Lea Tahuhu came into the attack in the next over and struck straightaway, picking up the wicket of Gunaratne and Kaveesha Dilhari within the space of 3 deliveries, pushing Sri Lanka further on the backfoot.
A partnership of 57 between Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama put the hosts back on track and despite both of them being dismissed before the end of the innings, late boundaries from Anushka Sanjeewani and Nilakshi de Silva helped them to 118.
The chase started well for the visitors, with Bates and Bernadine Bezuidenhout putting together 48 for the 1st wicket. The pair used their feet and the crease perfectly to put Sri Lanka on the backfoot right away. Bezuidenhout was stumped by Sanjeewani for 24 but Bates continued on alongside Amelia Kerr, getting to her 26th T20I half century before falling with New Zealand needing just 12 for the win.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vishmi Gunaratne | b Lea Tahuhu | 7 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 70.00 |
| Chamari Athapaththu | run out (Bernadine Bezuidenhout) | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Harshitha Samarawickrama | lbw b Eden Carson | 23 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 82.14 |
| Kavisha Dilhari | lbw b Lea Tahuhu | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Hasini Perera | c Georgia Plimmer b Lea Tahuhu | 33 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 91.67 |
| Nilakshi de Silva | c Amelia Kerr b Lea Tahuhu | 22 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 95.65 |
| Anushka Sanjeevani | not out | 18 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 138.46 |
| Sugandika Kumari | not out | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 13 (b 5 , lb 2 , nb 1, w 5, pen 0) |
| Total | 118/6 (20 Overs, RR: 5.9) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-10 (2.5) Chamari Athapaththu, 2-14 (3.1) Vishmi Gunaratne, 3-14 (3.3) Kavisha Dilhari, 4-71 (13.3) Hasini Perera, 5-81 (15.2) Harshitha Samarawickrama, 6-117 (19.5) Nilakshi de Silva, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fran Jonas | 4 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 4.75 | |
| Sophie Devine | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Eden Carson | 4 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 3.75 | |
| Lea Tahuhu | 4 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 5.25 | |
| Amelia Kerr | 4 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 6.00 | |
| Leigh Kasperek | 3 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 9.33 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernadine Bezuidenhout | st Anushka Sanjeewani b Kavisha Dilhari | 24 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 114.29 |
| Suzie Bates | c Hasini Perera b Inoka Ranaweera | 52 | 53 | 6 | 0 | 98.11 |
| Amelia Kerr | not out | 33 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Sophie Devine | not out | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | 5 (b 1 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 3, pen 0) |
| Total | 119/2 (18.4 Overs, RR: 6.38) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-48 (8.1) Bernadine Bezuidenhout, 2-107 (16.2) Suzie Bates, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Udeshika Prabodhani | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 3.00 | |
| Sugandika Kumari | 3.4 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 6.47 | |
| Inoshi Priyadarshani | 3 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 9.00 | |
| Kavisha Dilhari | 3 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 7.33 | |
| Inoka Ranaweera | 4 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 7.00 | |
| Chamari Athapaththu | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6.00 | |
