New Zealand Women vs Sri Lanka Women, match 7th of the group stage of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, was held at Southampton. The match was important for both teams as both had lost their respective previous matches. The match began with high hopes for the New Zealand Women’s side, as fans and experts hoped for Suzie Bates’ return to the playing XI.
But Suzie Bates was still unavailable for today’s match as well, as NZ-W captain Amelia Kerr confirmed this news during the toss. New Zealand Women won the toss, and Kerr elected to bat first.
The Playing XI for the New Zealand Women vs Sri Lanka Women Contest
New Zealand Women Playing XI:
Georgia Plimmer, Izzy Gaze (WK), Amelia Kerr (C), Sophie Devine, Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Izzy Sharp, Jess Kerr, Nensi Patel, Rosemary Mair, Bree Illing.
Sri Lanka Women Playing XI:
Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu (C), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Kaushini Nuthyangana (WK), Sugandika Kumari, Kawya Kavindi, Mithali Ayodhya, Nimasha Meepage.
New Zealand Women vs Sri Lanka Women: Lankan Bowlers Displayed Team Work and Restricted NZ W at 150/6
The match began with Mithali Ayodhya Bandara’s first over. New Zealand’s openers, Izzy Gaze and Georgia Plimmer, started the innings. The first over began with a dramatic start as Izzy Gaze hit a four on Ayodhya’s 3rd ball, and on the very next ball, the 4th ball of the over, she got caught out on a back-of-a-length delivery and scored 4(3).
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Plimmer and captain Amelia Kerr took the approach of scoring runs with singles and doubles. On the loose deliveries by the Lankan bowlers, both were attacking as well, as 10 runs came in the 5th over of Mithali Ayodhya, where Kerr hit back-to-back fours. At the end of 6 overs, New Zealand-W were at 38/1, Georgia Plimmer 15*(17) and Amelia Kerr 17*(16), and scoring runs at 6.33 per over.
Middle overs of the first innings of the New Zealand Women vs Sri Lanka Women match began with a wicket in the 8th over. On the 1st ball of the over, Plimmer lost her wicket on a half-length slower ball outside off from Nimasha Meepage. Georgia Plimmer contributed 18(22). In the 10th over, which was bowled by Kavisha Dilhari, 11 runs came from the over, and Devine and Kerr both hit one four each.
Both were running the scoreboard continuously without playing any dot balls, but on the 3rd ball of the 13th over, a big breakthrough came for Sri Lanka by dismissing Amelia Kerr on a slower ball outside off.
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She scored 45(36), and NZ-W were getting under pressure as on 14.6, Halliday, who was the star performer for NZ-W in the last game, got out without giving any big contribution, scoring 7(8), on Dilhari’s magical spin delivery. After 16 overs, New Zealand Women were at 117/4, with Maddy Green 2*(2) and Sophie Devine 36*(25), scoring runs at 7.31 per over.
The New Zealand Women vs Sri Lanka Women progressed into the death overs, and the conditions for NZ-W were getting tough, as the Sri Lankan bowling attack was ruthless throughout and restricted the NZ batters from scoring runs. New Zealand finished the innings at 150/6. The target for Sri Lanka was 151 runs in 20 overs, and they needed to score at 7.55 runs per over.
New Zealand Women vs Sri Lanka Women: Nilakshika Silva’s Crucial 54 Leads SL-W to Their First Win of the Tournament
The second innings started on a good note for NZ-W as the first over from Rosemary Mair was a maiden over. Chamari Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne took an approach to take the match in a calm and steady manner, as losing early wickets could create pressure on them. On the last delivery of the 4th over, Chamari’s catch was dropped by Georgia, and this moment could decide the outcome of the match in the end. In the 5th over, Chamari Athapaththu took charge and scored 16 runs from Jess Kerr’s over.
The 6th over was dramatic for both sides as, on the first four balls of the over, 13 runs came, and on the next two balls, Sri Lanka lost their biggest wicket, that of their captain. Athapaththu was trying to play a stroke with an open bat face on the off side, but it got edged, and she lost her wicket. After scoring 27(19), she got out. After 6 overs, Sri Lanka Women were at 45/1, scoring runs at 7.50 per over, with Harshitha Samarawickrama 0*(1) and Vishmi Gunaratne 16*(16).
Later, as the match progressed, Sri Lanka Women lost Vishmi Gunaratne’s wicket in the 7th over as she scored 17(19), and Nensi Patel got her first wicket of the match. Later, Hasini Perera got run out as there was a slight miscommunication between Hasini and Harshitha. In the 9th over, Nensi Patel got her second breakthrough of the match as Harshitha Samarawickrama got out after scoring 5(9).
From this stage of the match, Kavisha and Nilakshika Silva needed to build a partnership to get to the target, and they both made a 50-run partnership in 39 balls. In the 15th over, Kavisha Dilhari got run out after playing an anchoring innings of 17(16). Later, as the New Zealand Women vs Sri Lanka Women match entered the death overs, both the batters, Nilakshika Silva and Kaushini Nuthyangana, took the match till the end, and Sri Lanka Women registered a brilliant 5-wicket victory and got their first win of the ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2026.
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ALSO READ: New Zealand Women vs Sri Lanka Women Toss Report: Suzie Bates Misses Again
