Women’s ODI World Cup preview | Sri Lanka lean to familiar environs to break duck against Australia

‌Sri Lanka Women will hope that a familiar setting will help them turn around their fortunes in the ongoing Women’s ODI World Cup. The island nation will be up against an all-conquering Australian side at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday.

After a far from ideal start to the campaign against joint-hosts India, which saw them being outplayed in all departments before suffering a 59-run loss in Guwahati on Tuesday. Captain Chamari Athapaththu will hope for the batting unit, including her, to fire in unison to nurture any hopes of an improbable win.

However, Inoka Ranaweera’s performance with the ball, in the previous game, stands out as the lone bright spot for the home side. The veteran left-arm spinner’s impressive four-wicket spell helped them reduce the Women in Blue to 124/6 before a rearguard action from the lower middle-order took the game away from the Lankans.

Meanwhile, Australia polished its big-match credentials with a gritty win over Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in Indore on Wednesday. From among a plethora of all-rounders, it was Ashleigh Gardner’s turn to shine, with her 83-ball 115 taking the Aussies to a 300-plus total from a tricky-looking 128/5. A disciplined bowling attack, led by Annabel Sutherland and Sophie Molineux, then restricted the White Ferns to complete an emphatic 89-run victory.

Form Guide

SL W Form: WWLLL

AUS W Form: WWLWW

SL W vs AUS W head-to-head in ODIs

Sri Lankan Women are yet to taste success in this fixture with the seven-time world champion winning all 11 fixtures till date. 

SL W 0 - 11 AUS W

Pitch and Conditions

The surface at the R Premadas Stadium is expected to be flat with another high-scoring game in the offing. Seven of the eight top scores recorded in Women’s ODIs at this venue came during the tri-series, which also included India and South Africa, apart from the hosts. The 300-run mark was breached four times in that series, with both India and South Africa achieving the feat twice.

A cloudy afternoon will welcome both sides to Colombo, with temperatures expected to be around the 30-degree mark. There are chances of rain throughout the game, with temperatures dropping to 26 degrees at night. 

Team News

Sri Lanka may strengthen their batting after a below-par display against India, with all-rounders Piumi Vathsala and Dewmi Vihanga expected to replace Achini Kulasuriya and Sugandika Kumari. Meanwhile, Australia are expected to bring back pacer Megan Schutt in place of Darcie Brown, who had an off game against the Kiwis.

SL W Expected XI

Hasini Perera, Chamari Athapaththu (c), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Piumi Vathsala, Dewmi Vihanga, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoka Ranaweera.

AUS W Expected XI

Alyssa Healy (c & wk), Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Kim Garth, Alana King, Megan Schutt.

Broadcasting Platforms 

The SL W vs AUS W ODI World Cup match will be digitally streamed on the JioHotstar app and website in India from 3:00 PM IST on Saturday, with live telecast on the Star Sports network.