With Sophie Devine in charge, New Zealand won the second T20I of the series against Sri Lanka by eight wickets. When Sri Lanka batted first, they had trouble getting underway because of a faulty call that resulted in outfielder Chamari Athapaththu being run out. Because the home team was under a lot of strain, her opening partner, Vishmi Gunaratne, was unable to take advantage of the situation either.
Kavisha Dilhari, batting at number four, was unable to open her account as their ship was rapidly sinking. However, Sri Lanka managed to perform effectively in the middle overs, as Harshitha Madavi and Hasini Perera seized charge of the situation. The Chamari Athapaththu-led team only managed to score 118 runs in 20 overs, so the strike rate continued to be a major worry.
Lea Tahuhu, a 32-year-old medium-pacer for the White Ferns, stood out for her outstanding bowling performance, taking four wickets for just 21 runs. Due to the efficiency of the majority of the other bowlers, Sri Lanka’s efforts with the bat fell short.
New Zealand demonstrated their superiority in the pursuit, meanwhile. Kavisha Dillhari defeated Bernadine Bezuidenhout, and Suzie Bates and Amelia Kerr then took control and played some outstanding cricket. Following that, Bates scored 52 runs off of 53 deliveries, while Kerr contributed 33 runs off of 33 deliveries.
Chamari Athapaththu, on the other hand, will be dissatisfied with the bowlers and the team’s inability to have any kind of impact. While Udeshika Prabodhani was spectacular with the new ball, others were unable to adequately support her as the visiting team fell short of the total with eight deliveries remaining. As a result, Sri Lanka lost the series, but they will attempt a comeback in the third game, which is scheduled for July 12 at P Sara Oval in Colombo.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
Suzie Bates becomes the first woman to hit a T20I fifty in 10 different countries.
🇳🇿🏴🏝️🇿🇦🇦🇪🇦🇺🇧🇩🇮🇳☘️🇱🇰Closest is Stafanie Taylor who has a T20I fifty in 9 countries.#SLvNZ
— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) July 10, 2023
White Ferns bowlers with two hauls of four wickets or more in T20Is:
Amy Satterthwaite
Lea Tahuhu#SLvNZ https://t.co/aehQbLboww— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) July 10, 2023
Cricket in Colombo #SLvNZ pic.twitter.com/P19LIrJ54v
— Mrinal (@mrinaaal) July 10, 2023