Match Details
Chasing a competitive total of 141, Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Madavi propelled the hosts to a rollicking start. Athapaththu went all guns blazing inside the powerplay and thumped two boundaries in the first over. The New Zealand bowlers went on a short ball rampage against the Sri Lankan skipper but Athapaththu was unflustered and collected boundaries at regular intervals. Madavi ably supported her skipper and kept rotating the strike.
The Kiwi bowlers also erred in line early on and delivered 8 wides just inside the powerplay. Both Athapaththu and Madavi offered no respite and accumulated 64 runs off the powerplay. Athapaththu brought up her 7th T20I half-century in just 25 deliveries. Madavi also kept knocking around and ensured there are no hiccups in the chase. Athapaththu 80*(47) and Madavi 49*(40) stitched an exceptional 143-run opening partnership, which is the highest partnership for Sri Lanka in the shortest format. It was simply a disappointing bowling display from New Zealand and they were unable to find a breakthrough.Earlier in the day, after being invited to bat first, Suzie Bates and Isabella Gaze shepherded the innings for the White Ferns and powered them to a solid start. The right-handed Bates continued her blistering form in the series and batted deftly in the field restrictions. Isabella Gaze played the second fiddle to her and cashed in on the looseners. Both the right-handers helped New Zealand notch up 43 runs off the powerplay before Inoka Ranaweera was brought into the attack and had an immediate impact on the game. The left-arm spinner dismissed Gaze 13(14), who was cleaned up attempting a reverse sweep.
The Sri Lankan bowlers were successful to dry up the boundaries following the departure of Gaze and Amelia Kerr eventually succumbed to pressure and threw her wicket away at 14(14). The right-hander Bates also aggregated 37(38) before she was outwitted by Kavisha Dilhari. With wickets tumbling at the other end, the New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine counterattacked and steadied the ship. Devine swatted a much-needed 46(25) but lacked support from the other end. The visitors lost a cluster of wickets at the backend of the innings as Sri Lanka restricted them to 140/9. Inoka Ranaweera was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts and finished her stint with excellent figures of 3/15.