South Africa Women registered their fourth consecutive win, beating Sri Lanka Women in a rain-curtailed 18th match of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 on Friday (17th October) at the R. Premadasa Stadium.
Earlier in the day, Chamari Athapaththu won her fourth consecutive toss as Sri Lanka Women decided to bat first. They remained unchanged from their previous game against New Zealand. Captain Chamari Athapaththu also became the most capped Sri Lankan women’s cricketer in the format, having played 119 ODIs and surpassing former captain and all-rounder Shashikala Siriwardene.
- Colombo downpour forces another washout
- India fined for slow over-rate against Australia
- Nilakshi’s heroics in vain as rain has the final say
Despite winning three games in a row, South Africa made three changes, bringing in Sune Luus, Karabo Meso, and Nondumiso Shangase in place of Anneke Bosch, Sinalo Jafta, and Tumi Sekhukhune.
Sri Lanka started well, with Vishmi Gunaratne batting positively. However, in the 5th over, her left knee was struck by a throw from the mid-on fielder after completing a single. She appeared to be in considerable pain after being hit on the inner part of the knee. Gunaratne was barely able to move and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher.
Hasini Perera replaced her in the middle but could not hang in there, as the home side lost their first wicket with 30 runs on the board. Chamari Athapaththu too had to walk back soon after, given out LBW despite challenging the decision. Sri Lanka were reduced to 37 for 2, with Masabata Klaas removing both left-handers after striking in consecutive overs. Two overs later, rain stopped play at 3:55 PM.
The rain lasted for more than four hours before stopping around 8.30 PM. The ground staff then began removing the covers slowly, and after an inspection, the match officials decided to resume play at 9.10 PM with 20 overs per side, giving Sri Lanka 8 overs remaining in their innings.
Kavisha Dilhari started off with a six, but Sri Lanka lost both batters who were at the crease before the rain break within 13 balls. Vishmi Gunaratne returned to bat and, along with Nilakshi de Silva, took the team past 100, adding 40 runs for the fifth wicket.
However, the loss of three wickets in the final over saw Sri Lanka finish on 105 for 7 in 20 overs. Opener Gunaratne top-scored with a 33-ball 34, including six boundaries, while Nonkululeko Mlaba picked up three wickets for the Proteas after the break.
The DLS method set South Africa a target of 121, and skipper Laura Wolvaardt, together with Tazmin Brits, got off to a strong start. The duo of right-handers kept up with the asking rate and went on to register their respective half-centuries as South Africa eased to the target with 31 balls to spare.
Sri Lanka suffered their third defeat of the tournament and remained in 7th place on the points table, while South Africa moved up to second.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka Women – 105/7 (20) Vishmi Gunaratne 34, Nonkululeko Mlaba 3/30, Masabata Klaas 2/18
South Africa Women – 125/0 (14.5) Laura Wolvaardt 60*, Tazmin Brits 55*
South Africa Women won by 10 wickets. (DLS Method)
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vishmi Gunaratne | c Karabo Meso b Nonkululeko Mlaba | 34 | 33 | 6 | 0 | 103.03 |
| Chamari Athapaththu | lbw b Masabata Klaas | 11 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 44.00 |
| Hasini Perera | b Masabata Klaas | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Harshitha Samarawickrama | c Laura Wolvaardt b Nonkululeko Mlaba | 13 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 54.17 |
| Kavisha Dilhari | c Laura Wolvaardt b Nadine de Klerk | 14 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 107.69 |
| Nilakshika Silva | c Anneke Bosch b Nonkululeko Mlaba | 18 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 105.88 |
| Anushka Sanjeewani | run out (Anneke Bosch) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Piumi Wathsala | not out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 10 (b 1 , lb 6 , nb 0, w 3, pen 0) |
| Total | 105/7 (20 Overs, RR: 5.25) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marizanne Kapp | 5 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 2.80 | |
| Masabata Klaas | 5 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 3.60 | |
| Chloe Tryon | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 6.50 | |
| Nadine de Klerk | 4 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 5.75 | |
| Nonkululeko Mlaba | 4 | 0 | 30 | 3 | 7.50 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laura Wolvaardt | not out | 60 | 47 | 8 | 0 | 127.66 |
| Tazmin Brits | not out | 55 | 42 | 4 | 2 | 130.95 |
| Extras | 10 (b 0 , lb 2 , nb 0, w 8, pen 0) |
| Total | 125/0 (14.5 Overs, RR: 8.43) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sugandika Kumari | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 7.50 | |
| Malki Madara | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 4.67 | |
| Inoka Ranaweera | 3 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 8.00 | |
| Chamari Athapaththu | 3 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 7.33 | |
| Kavisha Dilhari | 3 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 9.67 | |
| Piumi Wathsala | 0.5 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 38.00 | |
 at the R. Premadasa Stadium.){kind=link}