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Sri Lanka Women vs New Zealand Women Match 7 Full Commentary
Result · Jun 16 2026, Tue - 07:00 PM (IST)
Match 7, - Hampshire Bowl
SL-W 153/5 (19.4)
NZ-W 150/6 (20.0)
Sri Lanka Women beat New Zealand Women by 5 wickets
CRR:7.78
প্লেয়ার অফ দ্য ম্যাচ
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We are all set to get the chase underway in an increasingly dark and overcast sky, which could offer crucial swing and seam movement for the bowling side. Sri Lankan openers Chamari Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunarathne have taken guard in the middle, heavily aware that a strong Powerplay is essential to hunting down the target of 151. Tasked with stopping them is right-arm medium-pacer Rosemary Mair, who takes the new ball for the White Ferns and will look to exploit the cloud cover to capture an immediate, vital breakthrough for New Zealand. Let's go...
... THE RUN CHASE ...
An exciting chase ahead - While a target of 151 is far from insurmountable, it will require a clinical and sustained batting effort from Sri Lanka to complete the chase. The pitch conditions and the scoreboard pressure mean the Lankans cannot afford a sluggish start or lose wickets. Facing a potent and highly experienced New Zealand bowling lineup, the Sri Lankan top order must bat with intent and maturity to pull off a victory. Join us in a bit for Sri Lanka Women's reply.
A quick chat - New Zealand Women's Sophie Devine is up for a flash interview. She admits that they are hugely disappointed despite working so hard in the middle, and reckons they are around 20 runs short. On the pitch, Devine says it played a touch slower than the previous match at the same venue. She credits the Sri Lankan bowlers for keeping things tight and hitting the stumps consistently, adding that it has given New Zealand a clear blueprint to follow with the ball. She is quick to add, though, that executing it will still take a strong bowling performance. On moving forward, Devine says the past cannot be controlled and the only thing that matters now is the next moment.
Mid-innings recovery - The innings stabilized and gained momentum thanks to a crucial partnership between Amelia Kerr and Sophie Devine, who both anchored the team with matching scores of 45 before being dismissed. Their departures stall the scoring, restricting New Zealand to the 150-mark. Sri Lanka's bowling attack maintained a disciplined display throughout the innings, headlined by Kavisha Dilhari, who claimed two scalps, while the rest of the unit chipped in with tidy, restrictive spells.
White Ferns post under-par total - New Zealand Women finished their 20 overs at 150/6, a score they likely consider a shade under-par relative to their expectations. Despite falling slightly short of a truly commanding target, the Kiwis will remain confident in their ability to defend it, given the sheer quality of their bowling unit. After electing to bat first, the White Ferns struggled to find their rhythm early on, scratching together just 38 runs during the initial 6-over Powerplay while losing a crucial early wicket.
Wonderful bowling in the death phase by the Lankans! New Zealand Women finish on 150/6. Shade fuller on off, Jess Kerr scuffs it to the mid off region and they hustle for the single, but will have to settle for just one only. Just 7 runs off the final over.
On a back of a length, outside off. Jess hangs back and punches it to the left of the diving cover fielder for a couple of runs.
Had to really hurry! On a good length outside off, Green punches it firmly to covers. There is a moment of hesitation between the two batters before they commit to the single. The fielder throws it to the keeper, but Jess is quick enough get there safely.
Fuller on off, Jess Kerr drags it across off the inside half of the bat, towards deep mid-wicket for one more.
Slightly back of a length, on middle. Green heaves it off the back foot, on the bounce to deep mid-wicket for a single.
Well bowled! Full and fast yorker, aimed right at the boots. Kerr's head falls over as she swings across the line and misses completely, with the ball deflecting off her foot and trickling away to the off side. A leg bye taken.
Mithali Ayodhya (3-0-18-1) to bowl the final over. So, Chamari Athapaththu is going with pace here.
Shorter in length on the pads, Kerr plays the pull off the inner half to short fine leg for one.
On a length outside off, Green steps out and pushes it to long off for a run.
Stump line on a length, spinning in. Jess works it across to deep mid-wicket for a single.
Out goes Izzy Sharp, in comes Jess Kerr.
OUT! STRAIGHT UP AND GONE! Nearly a collision but all's well that ends well. Fairly a loosener by the Lankan captain. It is a full toss on the leg stump and Izzy Sharp comes down the track, looking to whip it over deep square leg, but ends up getting a big top edge towards the short fine leg region. The fielder from the mentioned position comes forward but seeing the keeper charging across, she bails out and Kaushini Nuthyangana takes a fine catch, avoiding the collision as well. Another one bites the dust for the Kiwis and they are falling apart now. 140/6 on the board, with just 9 balls left.
No run, the batter has just watchfully blocked this out.
Flighted delivery outside off, Green drags it to deep mid-wicket for a single.
Big moment in the game. Losing Sophie Devine, with a couple of overs still left, is a massive blow to New Zealand Women. Izzy Sharp is the next batter in. Also, Chamari Athapaththu to bowl the penultimate over.
OUT! CAUGHT IN THE DEEP! Six and out for Devine. Kumari has the last laugh. And a huge momentum shift as well. Kumari lands it on a fuller length and offers more flight on this one. Devine again jumps out of her crease, looking to hoist it over long on, but mistimes off the toe end and airs it straight into the hands of Nilakshika Silva at long on. A top knock by Devine, but she would be gutted to have not batted throughout. New Zealand Women are 139/5, 2 overs left.
SIX! Clears the fence with absolute ease! Kumari bowls it full and sliding in and around middle. Sophie Devine charges down the track, picks it up and dumps it over the cow corner for a cracking six. That's the first six of the match.
Full on the leg stump, Green skips down the track and flicks it to widish long on for a single.
Dropped short, on off, Devine goes back and across before pulling it to the left of the deep mid-wicket fielder for a single.
A slight appeal for LBW, but turned down. Slides it onto the leg stump, on a length. Green goes for a pull shot but the ball stays low, beats her inside edge and deflects off her thigh pad to short third for a leg bye.
FOUR! Top shot, but could have been a better effort in the field! On a fullish length, on middle. Maddy Green smashes it to the right of the bowler. The long on fielder slides across to her left but misfields and the ball seeps through for a boundary.
Sugandika Kumari (2-0-16-0) is back on.
Stump-to-stump line, on a length, Maddy Green lets it drift into her and whips it to deep mid-wicket for one more.
Fuller on the off pole, Devine drives it to long on for a single. Moves to 38 (27), does Sophie.
The show goes on - Right then, that is it from a gripping contest at the Rose Bowl, where Sri Lanka Women have scripted history with a famous win over New Zealand Women. But the action in Southampton is far from over. Up next, the hosts, England Women, take on Ireland Women, although the weather has intervened for now, with rain delaying the toss. Stay tuned and switch tabs for all the latest updates from that game. Cheers!
The victorious skipper of Sri Lanka Women - Chamari Athapaththu says that it is a really good win and it was a must-win as well. She mentions that they were looking to do really well as a unit in the field, as they have struggled a lot in the past, and today they saved a lot of runs and the credit must go to their fielding coach. Chamari concludes by saying that every game is important in the tournament and has no doubt that New Zealand Women are one of the finest teams going around and this win will boost their confidence and they'll look to play the same way ahead as well.
The captain of New Zealand Women - Amelia Kerr feels 150 was a competitive total on a slightly slow surface, though New Zealand could have done with a few more runs. The major disappointment, however, is the fielding, which she believes has let the side down again. Kerr praises Sri Lanka's running between the wickets and their finishing partnership, while admitting New Zealand missed the chance to build a bigger platform in the middle overs. Looking ahead, she says the White Ferns still have three crucial games left but insists their biggest area for improvement is fielding, stressing that catches win matches.
Let's hear from the captains now...
Missed chances cost the Kiwis again - New Zealand were once again sloppy in the field. Bree Illing and Nensi Patel struck in quick succession, while Amelia Kerr produced a moment of brilliance to put the White Ferns firmly in control. But then came the turning point, Illing dropped a straightforward chance to reprieve Nilakshika Silva when she was at 1, and the left-hander made them pay. It wasn't an isolated error either, with New Zealand putting down a few more opportunities earlier in the innings and letting a few runs in the field as well, which we saw in the first game as well. Kerr was economical as always, but a touch of late drizzle made the ball skid on, and the pacers couldn't close the game out.
Regular strikes restrict New Zealand Women - Earlier in the game, New Zealand huffed and puffed their way to 150, with valuable 45s from Sophie Devine and Kerr doing the heavy lifting. The rest of the batting unit, though, endured a disappointing outing as Sri Lanka kept chipping away with regular wickets. Kavisha Dilhari was the standout performer with the ball, with a couple of scalps, while everyone apart from Kawya Kavindi chipped in with at least one wicket each.
Rescue act powers the Lankan Lions home - Sri Lanka Women began cautiously, but after Chamari Athapaththu survived an early chance, she counterattacked brilliantly before falling at the end of a Powerplay that yielded 29 runs in its last two overs. A collapse to 55/4 left them in trouble, but Kavisha Dilhari and Nilakshika Silva rebuilt with a vital 50-run stand. Even after Dilhari's unfortunate run-out, the young Kaushini Nuthyangana kept her composure alongside Silva, who brought up a superb unbeaten fifty, before Kaushini struck the winning runs with two balls to spare.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH - Undoubtedly, Nilakshika Silva wins the award for her match-winning 54* off 37. She says she likes to play against New Zealand Women as she did well in the 50-over World Cup game as well. Silva mentions that she looked to keep the scoreboard ticking and control the dot balls by running well between the wickets, and that helped her. Silva says that power striking and rotating the strike are her strengths.
Sri Lanka Women stun the Champions - Absolute scenes at the Rose Bowl in Southampton! Sri Lanka have pulled off a special win in the Women's T20 World Cup, beating New Zealand for the first time in the tournament's history and throwing Group B wide open. For the defending champions, though, it's crisis time, back-to-back defeats have left their title defence and semi-final hopes hanging by a thread.
FOUR! Sri Lanka Women pull off a historic win as they defeat New Zealand Women by 5 wickets. Good length, on middle and off, Kaushini Nuthyangana flicks this through the square leg region and the ball has raced to the fence for four runs, sealing the game. It is all smiles in the Lankan hut, and a moment the players will remember for a long time.
Yorker, on off, Nilakshika Silva pushes this towards the right of short covers and crosses for one. The fielder has a shy at the non-striker's end but misses. 2 needed in 3 balls now.
Sophie Devine comes back well. Darts in a yorker, around the pads. Nilakshika Silva fails to flick it away, gets nutmegged and the ball goes back to the keeper. Kaushini Nuthyangana was looking to sneak in a bye but the throw comes in quickly from the keeper and the batters retreat in time.
Back of a length, on middle and leg, Nilakshika Silva goes for the pull, gets it away from around the sticker of her bat, in between deep square leg and fine leg. Runs two. 3 needed in 5 balls.
Sri Lanka Women need 5 runs in the final over. All three results are still possible, but the Lankans will feel they have the upper hand here. Sophie Devine has been trusted with the responsibility of bowling the last over. Can she pull off something special here?
Terrific running between the wickets here. Rosemary Mair dishes this in the line of the stumps, looking to cramp the batter on her leg side. Kaushini Nuthyangana rolls this through mid on towards the right of long on. Silva pushes Kaushini for the second and they comeplete that with ease.
Mair goes full and on middle and leg, Silva gets it away from the inner portion of her bat to long on for one.
Full toss, on middle and leg, Kaushini Nuthyangana slogs this to the left of the deep mid-wicket fielder for another single. 8 needed in 8 balls now!
WIDE! Full and wide down the leg side, Kaushini Nuthyangana misses out on a flick. Wided.
FOUR! Kaushini Nuthyangana finds the gap for four runs. On a length, around middle and off, Kaushini Nuthyangana gets right underneath it and flicks this in the gap between the long on and deep mid-wicket region for for more runs.
Slower one, on a length, around middle and leg, Nilakshika Silva gets it away to deep backward square leg for a single to bring up her FIFTY. This has come under immense pressure but she knows that the job is not done yet.
Good length, slower one, around middle and off, Kaushini Nuthyangana hits this flat to deep mid-wicket for one.
Rosemary Mair to bowl the penultimate over. Sri Lanka Women need 16 runs in 12 balls now.
FOUR! Another misfield and one turns to four here. Tossed up, around off, Nilakshika Silva goes down on her knee and sweeps this straight to the deep backward square leg fielder. The fielder fumbles and the ball bounces over the fence for four more runs.
Quicker one, on middle and leg, Kaushini Nuthyangana rolls this to long on for one.
Tossed up, around off, turning away from the batter. Nilakshika Silva gets an inside edge as she looks to sweep this. The ball goes through her legs to the left of the keeper for one.
FOUR! Top shot from Nilakshika Silva. Flighted around off, Nilakshika Silva jumps down the ground, stays leg side to the ball and drives this through the covers region for a boundary.
Fuller, on the pads, Kaushini Nuthyangana smashes this towards deep mid-wicket for one.
Tossed up, on off, Nilakshika Silva sweeps this to deep backward square leg for one.
Amelia Kerr will finish her spell now, despite carrying a slight niggle.
FOUR! This is exactly what the doctor ordered for SL. Full and wide outside off, Kaushini Nuthyangana drags this with a slog in the gap between the long on and deep mid-wicket fielder for four runs.