New Zealand’s indifferent World Cup campaign burst to life with a dominant 102-run win over Sri Lanka in Paarl. Their second consecutive win boosted their NRR and their qualification now depends on the last league match between South Africa and Bangladesh. If South Africa win, they qualify; if they lose, New Zealand will sneak through from Group A. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka are out of contention after this defeat.
Opting to bat first, New Zealand racked up a total of 162/3, thanks to half-centuries from Suzie Bates (56 off 49) and Amelia Kerr (66 off 48). The chase proved too tall for Sri Lanka, who were wrapped up for 60 in 15.5 overs and handed their second defeat in two games.
While Bates played a steady innings at the top, hitting five boundaries, it was Bernadine Bezuidenhout who actually set the tone for the side. The 29-year-old opener scored 32 off only 20 balls, pasting five boundaries before falling to Achini Kulasuriya in the last over of PowerPlay. But her cameo had ensured that NZ had a handsome 47 runs on the board by the end of six overs. Sri Lanka were guilty of letting Bezuidenhout off twice, first through a missed run out and later by dropping her on 21.
Bezuidenhout’s dismissal saw Bates and Kerr come together and add 110 runs for the second wicket. Bates was also dropped on 37, reprieved by Nilakshi de Silva at mid-on. She went on to score a 44-ball fifty, tailgating Kerr’s 40-ball stay to the milestone. Both fell in the final over; Bates was stumped off Inoka Ranaweera whereas Kerr was run out but a target of 163 had already done half the job.
Sri Lanka fell like ninepins when they came out to bat, with their opening stand of 22 between Harshitha Samarawickrama and Chamari Athapaththu ending up as the highest partnership of the innings. Athapaththu’s 19 was the only double digit score alongside Malsha Shehani’s 10. Both those batters fell to Kerr, who was at it with the ball again and returned figures of 2 for 7. Lea Tahuhu, too, chipped in with two wickets as Sri Lanka finished the tournament with a whimper.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 162/3 (Kerr 66, Bates 56) beat Sri Lanka 60 all out in 15.5 overs (Kerr 2-7, Tahuhu 2-12) by 102 runs
