Green century, Rowe four wickets sink Sri Lanka

Saturday, 8 March 2025 00:31 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Maddy Green celebrates her second WODI century

Hannah Rowe completes a four-wicket haul

Harshitha Samarawickrama scores her second successive fifty

Maddy Green struck her second ODI century and Hannah Rowe claimed a four-wicket haul to give New Zealand a comfortable 78-run win in the second WODI against Sri Lanka and an unassailable 1-0 lead with one game left in the series.

Green’s 109-ball 100 (7 fours) dragged New Zealand out of a delicate situation early in the game to set Sri Lanka a target of 246, after which Rowe led the bowling effort to stop the visitors 78 runs short.

After a rain-hit no-result in the series opener in Napier, the teams came face to face in better conditions in Nelson and Suzie Bates chose to bat after winning the toss. But she was run-out for only five in the fourth over after a miscommunication, after which Achini Kulasuriya picked off Emma McLeod and Chamari Athapaththu dismissed Brooke Halliday. Both were out to sharp catches inside the circle. Georgia Plimmer, who hit some attractive boundaries in the powerplay, also fell for 28, and New Zealand were 59-4 in 18 overs.

A 51-run sixth-wicket partnership between No. 5 Green and No. 7 Isabella Gaze (19) stabilised the innings. After that, the lower-middle order stepped up. Jess Kerr struck a 44-ball 38 while wicketkeeper Polly Inglis crunched five fours in an unbeaten 21-ball 34.

New Zealand scored 84 in their last ten to post 245- 7, with Green run-out trying to pinch a single in the final ball of the innings.

In the chase, Bree Illing struck early to remove Athapaththu for 11 in the fifth over. Rowe then dismissed the other opener, Vishmi Gunaratne, in the eighth over, and New Zealand were on top. Harshitha Samarawickrama, though, followed up her unbeaten 66 from the first ODI with another half-century. Her partnership of 68 with Kavisha Dilhari (25) briefly put Sri Lanka in the ascendancy, but Eden Carson and Illing struck in the 22nd and 23rd overs respectively to rattle Sri Lanka again.

From 101-4, Sri Lanka needed Samarawickrama to go big, but she fell next to Rowe for 59 off 77 balls (4 fours). Nilakshika Silva was lbw to Bates and Anushka Sanjeewani was run-out by Kerr, giving New Zealand the firm upper hand. Rowe returned to pick up two of the last three batters to finish with 4/31 before Carson claimed the last wicket to wrap up the game in the 47th over.

The third ODI is on Sunday at the same venue.

Scores: New Zealand Women 245-7 (50) (Georgia Plimmer 28, Maddy Green 100, Jess Kerr 38, Polly Inglis 34*, Chamari Athapaththu 2/42)

Sri Lanka Women 167 (46.4) (Harshitha Samarawickrama 59, Kavisha Dilhari 25, Nilakshika Silva 20, Bree Illing 2/45, Hannah Rowe 4/31, Eden Carson 2/30)

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