New Zealand Women looking to take ODI form into T20I series
Author: Tom Penn
Updated At:
After the first ODI of the series between New Zealand Women and Sri Lanka Women ended as a no-result with just 36.4 overs bowled, there was plenty still up for grabs, but the hosts were way too strong for the tourists in both of the final two games and won the series easily 2-0.
All of this took place despite New Zealand Women suffering a spate of injuries and withdrawls ahead of the series ad Sri Lanka Women welcoming their captain Chamari Athapaththu into their ranks to lead the side immediately after she had left the Women's Premier League.
With four days between the ODIs finishing and the three game T20I series beginning on Friday, we take a step back and look at what made New Zealand Women so successful while wondering if it will be the same story in the shorter format.
White Ferns dominant
After winning the second and third ODIs, both in Nelson, by margins of 78 and 98 runs, New Zealand Women showed that they were more adept in the local conditions than the Sri Lanka Women side who looked out of their depth.
Suzie Bates' side hit two individual centuries and not only won the series without losing a game but also dominated the leading runs and wickets charts.
Leading Run Scorers
| Player | Runs | Average |
| Georgia Plimmer (NZ) | 140 | 70.00 |
| Harshitha Samarawickrama (SL) | 133 | 66.50 |
| Maddy Green (NZ) | 132 | 66.00 |
Leading Wicket Takers
| Player | Wickets | Average |
| Hannah Rowe | 4 | 15.75 |
| Jess Kerr | 4 | 16.50 |
| Eden Carson | 4 | 23.25 |
| Bree Illing | 4 | 29.25 |
| Fran Jonas | 3 | 13.33 |
| Chamari Athapaththu | 3 | 27.00 |
| Sugandika Kumari | 3 | 36.00 |
Was the toss a factor?
It is always a fair question to ask, particularly in certain conditions where the first innings is particularly hard for batting or vice-versa, and although New Zealand Women won the toss in all three games, their margin of victory was sufficient to put it down to better cricket rather than anything else!
Into the T20Is
Fans of Sri Lanka Women May Want to Look Away
This will be New Zealand Women's first experience of T20I cricket since they lifted the Women's T20 World Cup in October of last year. They went all the way to the final where they beat South Africa Women, winning four successive games in the process.
In the same tournament, Sri Lanka Women lost all four of their group stage games to Pakistan Women, Australia Women, India Women and finally to New Zealand Women.
Can Sri Lanka Women step up?
Four days ago, it was announced that Sri Lanka Women would host a Tri-Nation Series from late April to mid-May with India Women and South Africa Women the other competitors. Those three teams should capture plenty of attention and provide a huge amount of excitement for cricket fans but Sri Lanka Women need to first step up in this T20I series against the White Ferns.
With New Zealand Women winning the last head to head in this format, is there any hope left for Sri Lanka Women? Well, maybe not all is lost as they did come out on top and by a whopping ten wicket margin the previous time the sides locked horns in T20I cricket.
That game was in July 2023 and skipper Chamari Athapaththu took the Player of the Match Award with 80 not out from 47 balls while her opening partner Harshita Samarawickrama was also unbeaten on 49 not out from 40 deliveries.
Athapaththu made only 25 runs across her three innings during the ODIs but Samarawickrama impressed, ending the series as the second highest run scorer.
It may sound simplistic, but these two openers really will be key to Sri Lanka Women's success or not in this T20I series!
