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Twenty20 international, in Colombo: Sri Lanka 118-6 (Hasini Perera 33 (from 36 balls), Harshitha Samarawickrama 23 (from 28 balls), Nilakshi de Silva 22 (from 23 balls); Lea Tahuhu 4-21 (from 4 overs) lost to New Zealand 119-2 in 18.4 overs (Suzie Bates 52 (from 53 balls), Amelia Kerr 33 not out (from 33 balls), Bernadine Bezuidenhout 24 (from 21 balls) by eight wickets.
Lea Tahuhu started it and Suzie Bates finished it as a hapless Sri Lanka was caught in the middle to hand New Zealand’s White Ferns a T20 series win with a game to spare.
A cruisy eight wicket victory in Colombo on Monday has given the White Ferns an unassailable 2-0 lead in the best of three series.
Tahuhu’s 4-21, including two wickets in the third over of the match after New Zealand captain Sophie Devine inserted Sri Lanka, helped restrict the home side to 118 in their 20 overs.
Sri Lanka didn’t help themselves when they produced one of the worst running mix-ups you could ever see to lose their first wicket with Chamari Athapaththu departing in just the second over.
Isuru Sameera Peiris/Photosport
New Zealand’s White Ferns celebrate a wicket in the second T20 match against Sri Lanka.
Reduced to 14-3, after Tahuhu cleaned up Athapaththu’s opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne with her first ball of the match and then trapped Kavisha Dilhari in front a couple of balls later, Sri Lanka were always on the back foot.
After a short rain delay, Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama consolidated Sri Lanka’s position to be 50-3 at the halfway point of the innings but Devine went back to her strike weapon and Tahuhu delivered – with Perera caught on the square leg boundary by Georgia Plimmer for 33.
Eden Carson picked up Samarawickrama (lbw) in the 16th over but Nilakshi de Silva and Anushka Sanjeewani found some momentum to drag Sri Lanka up to 118 before Tahuhu removed de Silva for 22 on the penultimate ball of the innings.
In response, Bernadine Bezuidenhout got the White Ferns off to a flying start with a better than a run a ball 24 as she and Bates put on 48 for the opening wicket.
Joe Allison/Getty Images
Lea Tahuhu took four wickets in as many overs as she ripped the heart out of the Sir Lanka batting line up.
Bates was eventually dismissed for 52 with the finish in sight, but her 53 ball knock – that featured six fours – was a classy one that showed the value of experience.
Amelia Kerr, who was still there at the finish, guided the White Ferns home with 33 not out and Devine kept her company after Bates departed with five not out from as many balls.
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