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Twenty20 international, in Colombo: New Zealand 140-9 (Sophie Devine 46 (from 25 balls), Suzie Bates 37 (from 38 balls); Inoka Ranaweera 3-15 (from 4 overs), Sugandika Kumari 2-11 (from 4 overs) Sri Lanka 143-0 in 14.3 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 80 not out (from 47 balls), Harshitha Samarawickrama 49 not out (from 40 balls).
Sri Lanka has avoided a series whitewash with a remarkable form reversal to beat the White Ferns by 10 wickets in Colombo on Wednesday (NZT).
With the three game series already in the bank thanks to the first two victories, the White Ferns came up short when batting first, with Sri Lanka easily chasing down their target of 141.
Sri Lanka put the Kiwis into bat but White Ferns captain Sophie Devine confirmed she would have batted anyway.
Suzie Bates and Isabella Gaze put on 43 for the opening wicket but when Bates ran down the wicket and missed a straight one, to be bowled by Inoka Ranaweera, the White Ferns found their innings dropping momentum at 73-3 in the 12th over.
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Sophie Devine top-scored for the White Ferns with 46.
Then came Devine who, after being dropped on four to a simple chance at long on, blasted her way to 46 from just 25 balls, bringing up 3000 T20 international runs in the process as the White Ferns limped through to 140 after a flurry of late wickets.
Devine’s knock featured two fours and three sixes.
Sri Lanka’s openers Harshitha Samarawickrama and Chamari Athapaththu got off to a flying start in the opening powerplay and never relented.
In just 56 minutes, the pair cruised to their target in 14.3 overs at a run rate of 9.86 per over.
Sri Lanka’s captain Athapaththu blasted 80 from 47 balls, including 13 fours and two sixes.
The pair were in complete control and not one of the seven bowlers Devine used, including herself, ever looked like troubling the Sri Lankan openers.
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