Harshitha shines with 66* before rain

Wednesday, 5 March 2025 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

First WODI v New Zealand ends in no-result

Harshitha Samarawickrama hit unbeaten 66 before rain ended play

Harshitha Samarawickrama scored an unbeaten 66 and appeared to steady Sri Lanka’s effort in Napier at 147-5 before incessant rain forced a washout in the first ODI against New Zealand after 36.4 overs of action yesterday.

Asked to bat by Suzie Bates, Sri Lanka slid from 70-1 to 94-4, but the game had nearly evened up courtesy Samarawickrama’s second fifty-plus score in ODIs. The rain, though, meant no further play, and after a three-hour break, the umpires called off the contest. Chamari Athapaththu was the first batter dismissed, for a 21-ball 9, with seamer Bree Illing striking with the new ball. Samarawickrama and Vishmi Gunaratne, the other opener, then added 45 for the second wicket.

Jess Kerr ended the stand when Gunaratne (30) edged one behind to Polly Inglis in the 19th over, following which No. 4 Kavisha Dilhari (6) and No. 5 Manudi Nanayakkara (1) fell to Bates and Illing respectively.

A promising partnership of 44 for the fifth wicket ended when Eden Carson ran Nilakshika de Silva out for 17. Samarawickrama, with seven fours, held one end up amid the dismissals and reached her fifty in 83 balls. She had wicketkeeper Anushka Sanjeewani (2*) for company when rain arrived.

Sri Lanka handed WODI caps to Manudi Nanayakkara and Chetana Vimukthi.

The teams now move to Nelson for the next two games in the series.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.