Sri Lanka started off the tournament well, putting on 82 for the loss of just 1 wicket in the first 13 overs of the game but lost their next 7 wickets for 25 runs leaving New Zealand an easy target of 111 to chase. The White Ferns got there comfortably with 4.1 overs to spare.
The two teams had faced each other quite recently when the Lankans toured New Zealand late last year so it’s fair to say they were familiar foes. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first, hoping that their spinners would come in to play later. Chamari Atapattu and Yasoda Mendis got them off to a steady start and when Atapattu was dismissed Sri Lanka were 39.1. Mendis and in form batter Dilani Manodara then put on 43 runs for the 2nd wicket, albeit at a slower pace. Manodara seems to have hit a purple patch of late 165 runs in her last 5 games. Mendis’ dismissal was the turning point of the game as wickets kept falling at regular intervals from then on with the batters going for the big shots. Apart from the top 3, none of the others made it to double figures as 3 2 crucial run outs of Manodara and Skipper Shashikala Siriwardene spelled disaster for the Lankans. They finished on 110/8 with Lea Kasperek the pick of the bowlers for the Ferns, picking up 2/19.
There was never any doubt about whether the White Ferns would be able to chase down the score and they ended up doing it easy with almost one fourth of the innings still remaining. Suzie Bates and Rachel Priest got them off to a good start, scoring at just over a run a ball. Bates was 1st to go off the bowling of Siriwardene and Priest followed soon after, stumped off the bowling of Inoka Ranaweera. Ranaweera also managed to have Sophie Devine run-out but Sara McGlashan and Amy Satterthwaite ensured that there were no hiccups in the chase, putting on 34 for the 4th wicket to carry them home.
The White Ferns will be pleased with their performance as their batters got some good practice out in the middle while Sri Lanka can take few positives from the game, particularly the batting of Manodara.
Both teams will face Ireland next, with the Ferns taking them on on the 18th while Sri Lanka will lock horns with the Irish for a critical clash on the 20th.
Full Scorecard
| Sri Lanka Women Innings | ||||||
| Batsman | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
| Chamari Atapattu | b Leigh Kasperek | 17 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 80.95 |
| Yasoda Mendis | c K Perkins b A Satterthwaite | 30 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Dilani Manodara (wk) | run out (Katey Martin) | 37 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 119.35 |
| Shashikala Siriwardene (captain) | run out (S Devine) | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Eshani Lokusuriyage | b L Tahuhu | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Oshadi Ranasinghe | b S Bates | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| Prasadani Weerakkody | not out | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 77.7 |
| Ama Kanchana | c & b Leigh Kasperek | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Udeshika Prabodhani | run out (S Bates) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Sugandika Kumari | not out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | (lb 3, w 1, nb 0, b 0) 4 | |||||
| Total | 110-8 in 20 overs (5.50 runs per over) | |||||
| Did not Bat Inoka Ranaweera | ||||||
| Bowlers | O | M | R | W | ECO | Extras |
| Lea Tahuhu | 4 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 5.00 | 0nb, 0w |
| Sophie Devine | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 6.50 | 0nb, 1w |
| Morna Nielsen | 4 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 4.50 | 0nb, 0w |
| Leigh Kasperek | 4 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 4.80 | 0nb, 0w |
| Amy Satterthwaite | 4 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 6.00 | 0nb, 0w |
| Suzie Bates | 2 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 6.50 | 0nb, 0w |
| New Zealand Women Innings | ||||||
| Batsman | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
| Suzie Bates (captain) | b S Siriwardene | 37 | 37 | 4 | 4 | 100.00 |
| Rachel Priest (wk) | st D Manodara b I Ranaweera | 28 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 107.69 |
| Sophie Devine | run out (I Ranaweera) | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 140.00 |
| Sara McGlashan | not out | 21 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 150.00 |
| Amy Satterthwaite | not out | 13 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | (lb 1, w 4, nb 0, b 0) 5 | |||||
| Total | 111 -3 in 15.5 overs (7.01 runs per over) | |||||
| Did not Bat | Katey Martin, Katie Perkins, Anna Peterson, Leigh Kasperek, Lea Tahuhu, Morna Nielsen | |||||
| Bowlers | O | M | R | W | ECO | Extras |
| Udeshika Prabodhani | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 5.00 | 0nb, 0w |
| Eshani Lokusuriyage | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7.00 | 0nb, 0w |
| Sugandika Kumari | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4.00 | 0nb, 0w |
| Ama Kanchana | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 7.50 | 0nb, 2w |
| Inoka Ranaweera | 4 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 6.80 | 0nb, 0w |
| Shashikala Siriwardene | 2 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 10.50 | 0nb, 0w |
| Oshadi Ranasinghe | 1.5 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 8.20 | 0nb, 2w |
