The first game of the ongoing 3-match One Day International (ODI) series between hosts New Zealand and Sri Lanka was washed out due to rain after Sri Lanka were 147/5 in the 37th over of the innings at McLean Park, Napier. The action moved to Saxton Oval, Nelson, for the 2nd and 3rd ODI.
Maddy Green’s 2nd ODI century guides New Zealand to 245/7
The home side lost their skipper Suzie Bates in the fourth over of the innings after she won the toss and opted to bat first in the 2nd ODI. The White Ferns kept losing wickets at regular intervals courtesy of an impressive bowling display from the visitors. The Suzie Bates-led side were reduced to 59/4 in the 18th over of the innings.
Isabella Gaze joined Maddy Green at the crease and the duo led the recovery with a much-needed 51-run, partnership for the 5th wicket to take their side past the 100-run mark. Kavisha Dilhari broke the stand by removing Isabella Gaze (19 off 33 balls) in the 30th over of the innings to provide the crucial 5th breakthrough for Sri Lanka.
Jess Kerr joined Maddy Green at the crease and the duo took their side closer to the 200-run mark with another crucial 73-run partnership for the 6th wicket. Inoshi Priyadharshani Fernando cleaned up Jess Kerr (38 off 44 balls) to provide another crucial breakthrough for the visitors. The home side eventually ended up with a total of 245/7 in their quota of 50 overs.
Maddy Green (100 off 109 balls) completed her 2nd ODI century and was the stand-out performer with the bat for New Zealand. Wicket-keeper batter Polly Inglis (34* off 21 balls), and Georgia Plimmer (28 off 54 balls) were the other stars with the bat for New Zealand.
Skipper Chamari Athapaththu (10-1-42-2) was the stand-out performer with the ball for Sri Lanka. Inoshi Priyadharshani Fernando (9-0-43-1), Achini Kulasuriya (9-0-46-1), and Kavisha Dilhari (8-0-44-1) were the other wicket-takers with the ball, while Sugandika Kumari (9-1-38-0) was impressive in her spell for Sri Lanka.
Hannah Rowe leads the bowling attack as New Zealand take ODI series lead
Chasing a target of 246, visitors Sri Lanka lost both their openers, Vishmi Gunaratne and skipper Chamari Athapaththu, in quick succession. Kavisha Dilhari joined Harshitha Samarawickrama at the crease and the pair led the recovery with a much-needed 68-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side closer to the 100-run mark.
Eden Carson broke the stand by removing Kavisha Dilhari (25 off 42 balls) in the 22nd over of the innings to provide the crucial 3rd breakthrough for the home side. After the departure of Kavisha Dilhari, the visitors kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bundled out for 167, and 20 balls to spare. The visitors lost their last seven wickets for just 68 runs and as a result, the visitors fell 78 runs short of the target.
Harshitha Samarawickrama (59 off 77 balls), Kavisha Dilhari (25 off 42 balls), and Nilakshika Silva (20 off 44 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Sri Lanka. Hannah Rowe (10-1-31-4), Eden Carson (8.4-0-30-2), Bree Illing (10-0-45-2), Jess Kerr (10-1-23-0), and skipper Suzie Bates (5-0-15-1) were the top performers with the ball for New Zealand.
Maddy Green was awarded the Player of the Match for her sensational game-changing innings of 100 off 109 balls, playing a crucial role in helping the home side gain the series lead in the three-match ODI series.
