The Sri Lankan women’s team was last involved in a home series against New Zealand where they managed to win the ODI series. England was last involved in the Women’s Ashes at home, where they managed to clinch the T20I as well as the ODI series.
The Sri Lankan team is now in England for a three-match T20I series followed by a three-match ODI series which commenced on 31st August 2023. In this article, we will have a look at how things panned out in the first T20I at Hove.
We witnessed a delayed start to the first T20I of the series courtesy of the rain showers. After almost an hour’s delay the game finally got underway, however, it was a curtailed encounter as the game was eventually reduced to 17 overs per side.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and opted to field first. Very little did they know, what was coming up in their ranks as a bowling unit. The 24-year-old batter Maia Bouchier who recently had a wonderful season with the bat also finished the women’s hundred as the fourth-highest run scorer with 268 runs to her name. She was promoted to open the batting alongside Danielle Wyatt. The England Openers got off to a flying start scoring at 11 runs per over in the powerplay.
They lost Maia Bouchier courtesy of a run-out to provide Sri Lanka their first breakthrough. However, there was no respite for the Sri Lankans as Alice Capsey joined Danni Wyatt at the crease and the duo teed off. The England opener Danni Wyatt fell just two short of her half-century. The left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera provided the much-needed breakthrough for the visitors.
That is one massive SIX by Freya Kemp 🔥🔥#CricketTwitter #ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/VqSBliTyzS
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) August 31, 2023
Freya Kemp joined Alice Capsey at the crease and she ensured that the momentum of the innings was not hampered as she chipped in with a 10-ball 20, scoring at a strike rate of 200. Skipper Heather Knight provided the finishing touches to the innings alongside Alice Capsey to take England past the 180-run mark in their quota of 17 overs. England managed to score almost 11 runs per over. Alice Capsey was the top run scorer with the bat for England, scoring 51 off just 27 balls at a strike rate of 188.88.
Chamari Athapaththu's Wicket on her debut game.
Mahika Gaur is a star in the making 😎😍 #CricketTwitter #ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/EkKNMFV0K8
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) August 31, 2023
Chasing a target of 187 to win, Sri Lanka got off to a steady start to the run chase, and just when the openers were stepping their foot down on the accelerator, the rains arrived yet again and the play was interrupted. The game was curtailed further and it was eventually a 6-over contest and the target was revised to 68.
Despite rain disrupting the 1st T20I between England and Sri Lanka, England secures victory by 12 runs using the DLS method. 🏴🌧️
Debutant Mahika Gaur makes her mark with 1/16 in 2 overs. 👏#CricketTwitter #ENGvSL | 📸: Getty pic.twitter.com/Se6DxrCUYZ
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) September 1, 2023
The Sri Lankan batters failed to chase down the total as they fell 12 runs short of the target despite having wickets in hand. The 19-year-old all-rounder was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant performance with the bat (51 off 27 balls) as England took a 1-0 lead in a three-match T20I series.