The New Zealand XI led by skipper Jess Watkin were scheduled to play a couple of 50-over warm-up games against the visiting Sri Lankan side, which will be led by the stand-in skipper Anushka Sanjeewani in the absence of regular skipper Chamari Athapaththu for the warm-up games.
Sri Lanka batted first against the Jess Watkin-led side, at Bert Sutcliff Oval, Lincoln University. The Sri Lankan openers IW Dulani and Vishmi Gunaratne got their side off to a positive start, scoring at around six runs an over in the powerplay. Nensi Patel ended a threatening opening stand worth 62 runs by removing IW Dulani (26 off 37 balls) in the 11th over of the innings to provide the first breakthrough for her side.
Kavisha Dilhari joined Vishmi Gunaratne at the crease and the duo capitalised on a solid opening stand with another massive 71-run partnership for the 2nd wicket, taking the total past the 130-run mark. Ocean Bartlett picked up the big wicket of Vishmi Gunaratne (61 off 81 balls) to provide the much-needed 2nd breakthrough for the Jess Watkin-led side. The young Sri Lankan opener completed her well-crafted half-century before getting dismissed.
Another crucial 34-run stand for the 3rd wicket between the under-19 skipper Manudi Nanayakkara (34 off 37 balls) and Kavisha Dilhari put the visitors in a position of strength, before Claudia Green ended Kavisha Dilhari’s stay (48 off 70 balls) at the crease, just two runs short of her well-deserved half-century to provide the 3rd breakthrough for her side. A collapse followed which saw the Sri Lankans get bowled out for 244, with a couple of balls to spare, losing their last seven wickets for just 77 runs.
Skipper Jess Watkin (10-0-31-3) was the stand-out performer with the ball for New Zealand XI, while Ocean Bartlett (10-0-49-2), Nensi Patel (10-0-39-1), and JA Simmons (8.4-0-41-1) were impressive with the ball for their side. New Zealand batters chased down the total of 245, with six wickets in hand, they also went on to bat longer and score 284 runs with seven balls to spare, providing the much-needed time in the middle for the batters.
The 93-run partnership for the 2nd wicket between skipper Jess Watkin (63 off 41 balls), and Georgia Plimmer, followed by another 98-run partnership for the 3rd wicket between Brooke Halliday (76 off 92 balls) and Georgia Plimmer (73 off 93 balls) were the highest partnerships of their innings. Fifties from Brooke Halliday, skipper Jess Watkin, and Georgia Plimmer were the biggest positives for the home side ahead of their white-ball bilateral series against Sri Lanka from 4th March 2025 starting with the three-match ODI series followed by a three-match T20I series.
AGC Vimukthi (8-0-34-1), Udeshika Prabodhani (5-0-25-1), SL Nisansala (5.5-0-31-1), Manudi Nanayakkara (2-0-17-1), Sugandika Kumari (8-0-54-1), and Rashmika Sewwandi (6-0-35-1) picked up a wicket each with the ball for Sri Lanka. The 2nd 50-over warm-up game between these sides will be played on 28th February 2025.
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