AI Simulation, SL W vs NZ W | Sophie Devine and Lea Tahuhu star as New Zealand pull off second straight win in World Cup

Last Monday at 11:09 PM

As per Artificial Intelligence, New Zealand Women will beat Sri Lanka Women by 36 runs in the ICC ODI World Cup in Colombo. Captain Sophie Devine will continue her fine form with a fourth straight fifty-plus score while veteran pacer Lea Tahuhu will pick up a three-wicket haul to restrict the hosts.

‌Pitch & Weather

The pitch looked hard but was slightly tacky under the sun, aiding the seamers early on before bringing spin into play. There was dew later in the evening but the Kiwi pacers used it to their advantage making the ball skid and hurried the hosts batters.

A humid Colombo evening with light crosswinds welcomed both sides to the venue. Though there were rains in between, there was no reduction in overs.

Toss & Conditions

New Zealand Women won the toss and elected to bat first.

Lineups

Sri Lanka Women: Hasini Perera, Chamari Athapaththu (c), Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Dewmi Vihanga, Achini Kulasuriya, Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoka Ranaweera.

New Zealand Women: Georgia Plimmer, Suzie Bates, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (c), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze (wk), Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Lea Tahuhu, Eden Carson.

Match Report

On a cloudy and windy Colombo night, New Zealand Women clinched a crucial 36-run win over Sri Lanka Women in an ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 match. The Kiwi captain Sophie Devine once again led from the front with a composed 84 to help the side to a competitive total before pacer Lea Tahuhu’s incisive spell ensured that the hosts ended short.

Electing to bat first, New Zealand endured a tricky start as Georgia Plimmer and Suzie Bates found stroke-making difficult against the disciplined pair of Udeshika Prabodhani and Achini Kulasuriya. Bates’s fluent 42, which came in 53 balls and included five fours, steadied the innings before left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera dismissed her with a sharp turning delivery. From there, Devine’s class shone through as she drove and swept with assurance, constructing a vital 75-run stand with Amelia Kerr. The White Ferns’ skipper hit eight fours and two sixes during her knock of 84, her fourth-straight fifty-plus score in the tournament. Brooke Halliday and Maddy Green came up with valuable contributions down the order to take the side to 248/8, while Ranaweera finished with figures of 3/38.

In reply, Sri Lanka began well with skipper Chamari Athapaththu’s power and Hasini Perera’s patience, taking them to 80/1 by the 18th over. However, the pace duo of Jess Kerr and Tahuhu turned the screws with sharp middle over spells, giving nothing away to the home side’s batters. Athapaththu was dismissed for 55 off 70 balls, with the skipper hitting six fours and a six while Hasini departed for 38. Though Harshitha Samarawickrama’s patient knock of 47 added resistance, wickets kept falling at regular intervals from the other end. Once Samarawickrama left the scene, the middle and lower order crumbled, managing just 212/9 in the allotted 50 overs. Tahuhu bowled an impressive spell of 3/37 in 10 overs, while the Kerr sisters, Jess and Amelia, had two wickets each.

Player of the Match

New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine was named Player of the Match for anchoring New Zealand’s innings with a knock of 84 under pressure.

Scorecard

AI Simulation, Women's ODI World Cup | Sophie Devine and Lea Tahuhu continue to strike it rich as New Zealand Women beat Sri Lanka Women by 36 runs in Colombo.
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