The 15th match of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 ended with no result between Sri Lanka Women and New Zealand Women on Tuesday (14th October) in Colombo. Both teams shared a point each after heavy rain spoiled the game following the completion of Sri Lanka’s innings.
After winning the toss again, Sri Lanka opted to bat first as they made two changes, bringing in Piyumi Wathsala and Malki Madara in place of Dewmi Vihanga and Udeshika Prabodhani. New Zealand brought in Bree Illing, with Lea Tahuhu missing out.
The home side once again went back to their regular openers, Vishmi Gunaratne and skipper Chamari Athapaththu. Gunaratne batted patiently at the start while Athapaththu managed to find a few boundaries as the duo added 52 runs in the first 10 overs. The scoring rate slowed down in the next 10 overs, producing just 35 runs, while Gunaratne survived an LBW decision on review after being given out on field. New Zealand also had a chance to dismiss the Sri Lankan captain early when she was on 12, but they did not opt to review for a caught behind — and replays later showed a slight murmur on UltraEdge.
The right-hand–left-hand combination took Sri Lanka past 100 in the 23rd over, registering their third hundred partnership in World Cups and the second for the opening wicket in this edition. In the process, Athapaththu reached her 20th ODI fifty, but she was dismissed in the very next over by Sophie Devine for 53. Soon after, Gunaratne also departed for 42, leaving Sri Lanka at 125 for 2.
Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama then joined forces in the middle as the two left-handers rebuilt the innings with a half-century stand. However, New Zealand pulled things back with three quick wickets, including both set batters, as the hosts were 5 down for 198.
Then it was all about Nilakshi de Silva, who took charge from the beginning and provided the perfect finishing touches. She struck three consecutive fours in the final over, bringing up the fastest half-century for Sri Lanka Women in ODIs and the second-fastest in this World Cup, reaching her fifty off just 26 balls. A total of 80 runs were piled up in the final 10 overs, as Sri Lanka finished on 258 for 6 in their 50 overs.
New Zealand were sloppy in the field, missing several crucial opportunities. Their skipper, Sophie Devine, was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 54 in 9 overs, while Bree Illing also bagged two scalps.
Given the history so far in this tournament at this venue, Sri Lanka would have fancied their chances to pick up their maiden win given they were impressive in patches against India and England before. But the run chase never got underway with rain consistently keeping the players indoors, forcing an abandonment for the second time this edition.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka Women – 258/6 (50) Nilakshi de Silva 55*, Chamari Athapaththu 53, Hasini Perera 44, Vishmi Gunaratne 42, Sophie Devine 3/54, Bree Illing 2/39
No Result.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vishmi Gunaratne | b Rosemary Mair | 42 | 83 | 3 | 0 | 50.60 |
| Chamari Athapaththu | c Maddy Green b Sophie Devine | 53 | 72 | 7 | 0 | 73.61 |
| Hasini Perera | c Isabella Gaze b Bree Illing | 44 | 61 | 6 | 0 | 72.13 |
| Harshitha Samarawickrama | c Isabella Gaze b Bree Illing | 26 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 83.87 |
| Kavisha Dilhari | c Suzie Bates b Sophie Devine | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Nilakshika Silva | not out | 55 | 28 | 7 | 1 | 196.43 |
| Piumi Wathsala | c Bree Illing b Sophie Devine | 7 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 46.67 |
| Anushka Sanjeewani | not out | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | 21 (b 3 , lb 3 , nb 0, w 15, pen 0) |
| Total | 258/6 (50 Overs, RR: 5.16) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bree Illing | 7 | 0 | 39 | 2 | 5.57 | |
| Rosemary Mair | 6 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 4.83 | |
| Eden Carson | 9 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 4.89 | |
| Jess Kerr | 7 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 4.86 | |
| Amelia Kerr | 10 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Sophie Devine | 9 | 0 | 54 | 3 | 6.00 | |
| Maddy Green | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 6.00 | |
 in Colombo. Both teams shared a point each after heavy rain spoiled the game following the completion of Sri Lanka’s innings. ){kind=link}