The White Ferns reaffirmed the tag of being one of the favourites to lift the trophy with a comprehensive seven-wicket victory against Sri Lanka to open their campaign in the Women’s World T20 here on Tuesday.
Dominating the game all through in every department, New Zealand did not give any space to Sri Lanka after the latter elected to bat first. Except for the top three batswomen, no other Sri Lankan player managed to reach double digits. Chamari Athapaththu, Yashoda Mendis and Dilani Manodara kept the team on course for a decent total but once Yashoda fell for a run-a-ball 30 with the score at 82, the collapse was unavoidable.
The Sri Lankans kept going for non-existent runs and ran themselves out. Off-spinner Leigh Kasparek snapped two wickets as Sri Lanka could manage only 110 for the loss of eight wickets.
In response, New Zealand was off to a quick start and kept the pace up. The difference in the teams' dominance can be gauged from the fact that New Zealand struck 12 boundaries in the 15 overs it played compared to eight by Sri Lanka women through the innings.
Captain Suzie Bates and Rachel Priest, the two top-scorers, raced to 64 in just 10 overs but fell in quick succession. The team went from 64 for no loss to 68 for two but Sara McGlashan and Amy Satterthwaite's 34-run partnership saw the team safely past the post in just 15.1 overs.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka Women 110 for eight in 20 overs (Yashoda Mendis 30, Dilani Manodara 37; Leigh Kasparek two for 19) lost to New Zealand Women 111 for three 15.5 overs (Suzie Bates 37, Rachel Priest 28) by seven wickets.
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