Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and elected to bat first against New Zealand in Colombo. The hosts, with just one point from three games after suffering two defeats, are eager to bounce back. Meanwhile, the White Ferns have also faced two losses but enter this contest with momentum, having defeated Bangladesh in their previous fixture.
Explaining her decision at the toss, Athapaththu said her side needed to improve while chasing.
“𝑾𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒔𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒖𝒑 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆,” 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅, 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑.
New Zealand Make One Change as Sri Lanka Shuffle Bowling Options
New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the toss, noting that bowling first aligned with their initial game plan.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒚. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒉,” 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
Sri Lanka made two changes to their lineup — bringing in Malki Madara and Piumi Wathsala in place of Udeshika Prabodani and Dewmi Vihanga. The visitors, on the other hand, made a single change, handing Bree Illing a spot in the XI in place of Lea Tahuhu, a tactical move considering the left-armer’s potential match-up advantage against Athapaththu.
The pitch in Colombo features uneven boundaries — 58 metres on one side and 63 on the other — and is expected to offer some early bounce and swing for the seamers before assisting spinners later in the game. However, intermittent rain in Colombo could play a role, with showers forecast at some stage during the contest.
Playing XIs
Sri Lanka: Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu (C), Hasini Perera, Harshita Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani (WK), Piumi Wathsala, Sugandika Kumari, Malki Madara, Inoka Ranaweera
New Zealand: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (C), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Eden Carson, Bree Illing
Also Read: “You Need to Be Fearless as a Captain” – Shubman Gill on India’s Dominant 2-0 Triumph
