In the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, the inaugural match of ENG-W vs SL-W was held at Edgbaston. SL-W won the toss and elected to bowl first, and the playing XI of both teams was:
Sri Lanka Women Playing XI: Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu (c), Imesha Dulani, Harshitha Madavi Samarawickrama, Hansima Karunaratne, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Kaushani Nuthyangana (wk), Sugandika Kumari, Malki Madara, Mithali Ayodhya.
England Women Playing XI: Danielle Nicole Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Alice Capsey, Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Danielle Gibson, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell.
Batting first, ENG-W posted the highest total ever in the Women’s T20 World Cup History, as Danni Wyatt-Hodge posted her 2nd ton in her WT20I career. Her first ton was 124 runs, and in the first match of the 10th edition of the ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup, she scored an unbeaten 105-run innings in just 62 balls with a strike rate of 169.35. Also, Amy Jones, who was her opening partner, scored a valuable 53 (38), and Nat Sciver-Brunt finished the innings with her impactful and fast 46-run knock in just 22 balls.
Also, in the first innings, a concerning issue was the 15 extras conceded by the SL-W bowling department. Malki Madara was the only bowler who took a wicket, but she also conceded 51 runs in her 4 overs. ENG-W ended the first innings at 219/1, creating a historic total.
ENG-W vs SL-W: Power Play Was Dominated by England-W
In ENG-W vs SL-W, the target was 220 to chase, and something miraculous was needed in the second innings from SL-W to chase the highest total in the Women’s T20 World Cup history set by ENG-W. Both the openers, Chamari Athapaththu, the Lankan captain, and Vishmi Gunaratne, faced the first over of Lauren Bell. In the first over, SL-W scored only 9 runs.
In 2.1 overs, Lauren Bell took the first breakthrough for her team, taking Gunaratne’s wicket. She scored 6 (9). The 2nd breakthrough for ENG-W came at 3.2 overs, where Charlie Dean took the wicket of the captain, Chamari Athapaththu. She got out after scoring 4 (7), and conditions were getting tough for SL-W.
As in the 6th over’s 4th ball, Linsey Smith took the wicket of Imesha Dulani. She made 7 (9), and after 6 overs, SL-W were at 39/3. Hansima Karunaratne was 2* (2) and Harshitha Samarawickrama was 12* (9).
ENG-W vs SL-W: Sri Lanka-W in Under Pressure In the Middle Overs
ENG-W vs SL-W, the middle overs of the 2nd innings started with the wicket of Hansima Karunaratne. At 7.6 overs, Charlie Dean took the 4th breakthrough for ENG-W, and the conditions were putting SL-W under pressure. At 8.3 overs, Harshitha, after scoring 29 (18), got out on Freya Kemp’s ball.
For the next 4 overs, the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th overs, SL-W were rotating strike and getting runs with a calm and controlled approach and not losing any wickets. But in the 13th over, SL-W lost 3 wickets in a single over, as with her fierce left-arm fast bowling and pace, Freya Kemp dismissed Kavisha Dilhari, Kaushani Nuthyangana, and Sugandika Kumari.
Taking back-to-back wickets on the over’s last two balls, she was on a hat-trick, and in the 15th over, Nilakshi de Silva defended the ball safely. Freya Kemp’s bowling was a complete nightmare for SL-W. Her blistering spell of 4 overs, where she conceded only 22 runs and took 4 wickets at an economy of 5.50, made her the star bowler in today’s match.
As things were getting tough for SL-W, in the last over of the match, Sophie Ecclestone took 2 wickets. The match ended in favour of England Women, and the inaugural ENG-W vs SL-W match was won by a huge margin of 87 runs. It was a complete display of the England-W team’s dominating form.
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