Maddy Green’s century and Hannah Rowe’s four-wicket haul gave New Zealand a convincing 78-run win in the 2nd ODI of the 3-match series against Sri Lanka. Both teams made some changes to their side, Fran Jonas replaced Hannah Rowe in the starting 11 for the home side. The visitors, Sri Lanka, made a couple of changes to their side, Imesha Dulani and Sachini Nisansala replaced Manudi Nanayakkara and Inoshi Priyadharshani Fernando in the starting 11 for the Chamari Athapaththu-led side.
Georgia Plimmer’s century, Suzie Bates’ fifty, helps New Zealand post 280/6
Openers Georgia Plimmer and skipper Suzie Bates got their side off to a solid start with a massive 108-run opening partnership, after skipper Suzie Bates won the toss and opted to bat first in the 3rd ODI at Saxton Oval, Nelson. Sachini Nisansala picked up the big scalp of the opposition skipper Suzie Bates (53 off 69 balls) to provide the first breakthrough for Sri Lanka. She completed her well-crafted half-century before getting dismissed.
Emma McLeod soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 2nd breakthrough for the visitors. Brooke Halliday joined Georgia Plimmer at the crease and the duo went through the rebuilding phase with a crucial 63-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side closer to the 200-run mark. Sugandika Kumari broke the stand by removing Brooke Halliday (36 off 42 balls) in the 39th over of the innings.
Maddy Green joined opening batter Georgia Plimmer at the crease and the pair switched gears and took the home side past the 230-run mark. Sugandika Kumari returned and picked up the big wicket of Georgia Plimmer to provide the much-needed 4th breakthrough for Sri Lanka in the 45th over of the innings. She achieved a remarkable landmark as she notched up her maiden century in the ODI format (112 off 120 balls).
New Zealand eventually posted a challenging total of 280/6 in their quota of 50 overs. Maddy Green (32 off 24 balls), and Isabella Gaze (24* off 18 balls) were the other batters who played their part for their side. Sugandika Kumari (10-0-70-3) was the stand-out performer with the ball, while skipper Chamari Athapaththu (10-1-39-1), Achini Kulasuriya (10-1-62-1), and Sachini Nisansala (6-0-31-1) were impressive with the ball for Sri Lanka.
New Zealand spinners leave Sri Lanka clueless to seal the ODI series
Chasing a stiff total of 281, the visitors were reduced to 23/3 in the 10th over of the run chase. The top three, including their skipper, were back in the pavilion. Decent partnerships for the 4th wicket of 34 runs (62 balls) between Kavisha Dilhari and Imesha Dulani, followed by a 46-run partnership for the 5th wicket (57 balls) between Kavisha Dilhari and Nilakshika Silva, and then another vital 47-run stand (69 balls) between Anushka Sanjeewani and Nilakshika Silva for the 6th wicket took the visitors to the 150-run mark.
Sri Lanka were eventually bundled out for 182 in their quota of 50 overs. The visitors lost their last four wickets for just 32 runs and as a result, they fell 98 runs short of the target. Kavisha Dilhari (45 off 54 balls), Nilakshika Silva (45 off 73 balls), and wicket-keeper batter Anushka Sanjeewani (23 off 34 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Sri Lanka.
Jess Kerr (10-0-22-3), and Fran Jonas (10-0-40-3) picked up three wickets each and Eden Carson (10-2-29-2) a couple. Georgia Plimmer was awarded the Player of the Match for her maiden century (112 off 120 balls) in the ODI format. Maddy Green was awarded the Player of the Series for scoring 132 runs with the bat and taking one wicket in the ODI series.
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