New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine will hope to continue her good form in the match against Sri Lanka.
| Photo Credit: AFP
For New Zealand, a change in venue has proven useful. After losing its first two matches in Indore, Sophie Devine and Co. found their stride in Guwahati, beating Bangladesh to get off the mark at the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025.
But when the White Ferns take on Sri Lanka next, their main challenge will be adapting to the tricky playing environment at the R. Premadasa Stadium here on Tuesday.
New Zealand has benefitted largely from its skipper’s purple patch and Brooke Halliday’s handy knocks, but will hope to see more contributions from its top-order, especially veteran Suzie Bates. The opener can draw confidence from her impressive 78.71 average against Sri Lanka.
However, the team will also be wary of the home side springing a few surprises. “They’re a really dangerous side, particularly in their home conditions. We’ve had experience with that before,” recalled Maddy Green ahead of the match. Sri Lanka could draw some much-needed confidence from that 2023 series win at Galle.
In their recent loss to England, the Lankans faltered in all departments and will hope to recalibrate. In-form Inoka Ranaweera, who has seven wickets in two matches, will be key to unsettling New Zealand.
The batters will also look to Chamari Athapaththu to leverage her strong record against the opponent — the captain has two hundreds and three fifties in 13 innings, with both tons coming in the 2-1 series victory.
The unpredictable weather, though, has made assessing conditions difficult, with teams winning the toss losing all four games. Pace and spin have constantly traded fortunes — the spinners dominated England and Sri Lanka’s clash, taking 14 of 18 wickets, while Australia’s pacers claimed seven of the 10 scalps against Pakistan. Adaptability will matter more than the toss.
Published – October 13, 2025 10:57 pm IST
