Rain ruins Sri Lanka’s big chance after Nilakshi’s fireworks

Rain ruins Sri Lanka’s big chance after Nilakshi’s fireworks

Women's ODI World Cup: Sri Lanka Vs New Zealand: Sri Lanka posted a strong total thanks to Nilakshi de Silva’s quickfire 55*, but heavy rain in Colombo stopped New Zealand’s chase before it began, forcing both teams to share points in the Women’s World Cup.

Heavy rain in Colombo meant Sri Lanka and New Zealand had to share points in their Women’s World Cup clash. It’s a tough blow for New Zealand, who’ve already lost two games and now face an uphill battle to reach the semifinals. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, was eyeing their first win of the tournament after posting the highest total seen in Colombo so far.

Batting first, Sri Lanka got off to a strong start. Chamari Athapaththu was in full flow early, scoring a quick 33 off 33 balls as the hosts reached 52/0 in 10 overs. Vismi Gunaratne was more cautious, scoring just 10 off 27 balls. New Zealand slowed things down in the next phase, but Athapaththu still managed to notch up her 20th ODI fifty.

Sophie Devine broke the opening stand by dismissing Athapaththu, and Rosemary Mair sent Gunaratne back after a slow 42 off 83 balls. Sri Lanka wobbled a bit, but Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama steadied things with a 58-run partnership. Still, neither could push on to a big score.

New Zealand fought back hard, reducing Sri Lanka from 183/2 to 198/5. Just when things looked shaky, Nilakshi de Silva stepped up in style. She smashed 55* off just 28 balls, hitting boundaries regularly and lifting Sri Lanka past 250.

Sri Lanka were confident of defending the total, especially after showing promise against India and England earlier. But the rain had other plans. The second innings never began, and the match was called off, marking the second rain-abandoned game of the tournament.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 258/6 in 50 overs (Nilakshi de Silva 55*, Chamari Athapaththu 53, Hasini Perera 44; Sophie Devine 3/54) vs New Zealand - No result