The second unofficial ODI between Sri Lanka A Women and New Zealand A Women at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium developed into a competitive contest before rain forced an early finish. New Zealand A Women were 66/4 while chasing 198 when the match was eventually abandoned.
Sri Lanka A Women chose to bat first and made a careful start against accurate new-ball bowling from Hannah Rowe and Emma Black. Openers Vishmi Gunaratne and Sanjana Kavindi looked to settle in, but New Zealand A kept the pressure on with disciplined lines from the beginning.
Kavindi found it difficult to rotate strike and was dismissed for 1 off 16 balls, caught by Wakelin off Emma Black, leaving Sri Lanka A Women at 15/1. Gunaratne looked more comfortable, hitting two boundaries in her 13 from 22 balls, but New Zealand A continued to strike at regular intervals. She fell at 31/2 when Marama Downes removed her after a short stand with Vimoksha Balasuriya.
Sri Lanka A Women then found some stability through Vimoksha Balasuriya and skipper Sathya Sandeepani. Balasuriya played a patient innings of 31 from 57 balls, including three boundaries, and helped guide the innings through the middle phase. Sumudu Nisansala also added 24 off 49 balls before Armstrong trapped her lbw at 74/3 in the 22.5th over.
Balasuriya and Piumi Wathsala then put together another useful stand, working the ball around on a slow surface. Armstrong, however, struck an important blow by dismissing Balasuriya for 31, with Anderson taking the catch to make it 81/4.
Wathsala tried to rebuild alongside captain Sandeepani but was run out for 13 off 24 balls after sharp work involving substitute Xara Jetly, leaving Sri Lanka A Women at 104/5. Sandeepani was unable to score quickly but brought control to the innings with 16 from 37 deliveries.
She added useful runs with Limansa Thilakarathna, who made 24 from 36 balls with one boundary at a strike rate of 66.66. Their partnership helped Sri Lanka A Women recover after the middle-order setbacks before Sandeepani was caught by Catton off Emma Black at 110/6.
The most important late contribution came from Dewmi Vihanga, who counterattacked from the lower order. Arriving with the innings under pressure, Vihanga changed the tempo with a bold 44 from 48 balls, hitting two fours and two sixes.
Her partnership with Thilakarathna added vital runs before Vihanga was dismissed by Rowe at 178/8 in 47.3 overs. Rashmika Sewwandi then gave the innings a late push, finishing unbeaten on 16 from just 9 deliveries with two boundaries at a strike rate close to 178. The late resistance lifted Sri Lanka A Women to 197/9 from their 50 overs.
New Zealand A Women’s bowlers produced a strong collective display. Hannah Rowe led the attack with 3 wickets for 36 runs in her 10 overs, applying pressure both with the new ball and at the death. Emma Black provided excellent support with 2/49 from 9 overs, removing Kavindi and Sandeepani at key stages.
Marama Downes finished with 2/30 from 8 overs and broke a developing partnership by dismissing Balasuriya. Bella Armstrong also impressed with 2/21 from 7 overs, while Jess Watkin and Fran Jonas kept the scoring rate under control through the middle overs.
Chasing 198, New Zealand A Women began brightly despite the early loss of Bella James, who made 20 off 15 balls. James attacked from the start and struck three boundaries before Sumudu Nisansala and Rashmika Sewwandi combined for the breakthrough at 30/1.
Captain Jess Watkin arrived with attacking intent and made a rapid 8 from 4 balls, including a six, but she was soon dismissed, caught by Sumudu Nisansala off Tharuka Shehani with the score at 39/2.
Kate Anderson held the innings together from one end and remained unbeaten on 19 from 25 deliveries. Sri Lanka A Women, however, continued to build pressure through disciplined bowling and sharp fielding. Prue Catton struggled for fluency before being run out for 3, while Tash Wakelin was also run out without scoring.
Bella Armstrong added an unbeaten 13 from 10 balls as New Zealand A Women reached 66/4 in 10.1 overs. Rain then interrupted the chase and eventually forced the match to be abandoned.
Sri Lanka A Women’s bowlers showed encouraging signs in the shortened defence. Tharuka Shehani was the most successful, taking 1/11 from 2.1 overs, while Chamudi Praboda, Sathya Sandeepani, Dewmi Vihanga and Rashmika Sewwandi all produced energetic spells to keep New Zealand A Women under pressure.
