New Zealand Women won the toss and elected to bat first against Sri Lanka Women in the seventh game of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday — a fixture both sides went into needing a win to keep their tournament hopes alive.
Both teams lost their opening matches: New Zealand to West Indies, and Sri Lanka to hosts England by 87 runs at Edgbaston. New Zealand named an unchanged line-up while Sri Lanka rang three changes to the playing XI that had started against England last week.
At the toss, captain Chamari Athapaththu said she would have bowled first had she won it. She stressed the importance of adapting quickly to varied English conditions if Sri Lanka are to make further progress in the eight-team tournament, in remarks reported by Ada Derana.
The match comes at the Group 2 cliff-edge for both teams. Sri Lanka’s tournament opener against England saw Athapaththu win the toss and elect to bowl — but Sri Lanka could not contain the hosts before being bowled out 87 runs short at Edgbaston. The 15-player squad named in late May under Athapaththu’s captaincy had been considered an outsider for the knockouts, but a warm-up win over the Netherlands had buoyed expectations.
The full result and scorecard will be reported separately once the innings close.
