New Zealand 245 for 7 (Green 100, J Kerr 38, Inglis 34*, Athapaththu 2-42) beat Sri Lanka 167 (Samarawickrama 58, Rowe 4-31, Carson 2-30, Illing 2-45) by 78 runs
Maddy Green struck her second ODI century and
Hannah Rowe claimed a four-wicket haul to give New Zealand a comfortable 78-run win in the second ODI against Sri Lanka and an unassailable 1-0 lead with one game left in the series. Green's 109-ball 100 dragged New Zealand out of a delicate situation early in the game to set Sri Lanka a target of 246, after which Rowe led the bowling effort to stop the visitors 78 runs short.
After a
rain-hit no-result in the series opener in Napier, the teams came face to face in better conditions in Nelson and Suzie Bates chose to bat after winning the toss. But she was run-out for only five in the fourth over after a miscommunication, after which Achini Kulasuriya picked off Emma McLeod and
Chamari Athapaththu dismissed Brooke Halliday. Both were out to sharp catches inside the circle. Georgia Plimmer, who hit some attractive boundaries in the powerplay, also fell for 28, and New Zealand were 59 for 4 in 18 overs.
A 51-run sixth-wicket partnership between No. 5 Green and No. 7 Isabella Gaze (19) stabilised the innings. They came down the track and also played the field by using the width of the crease. After that, the lower-middle order stepped up.
Jess Kerr struck a 44-ball 38 while wicketkeeper
Polly Inglis crunched five fours in an unbeaten 21-ball 34.
Green was the constant. She struck seven fours, the last of which brought up her century in the penultimate ball of the innings. She has been in fine touch recently, carrying the form from the strong showing in the domestic One-Day Cup where she hit 125 and 126 in two of her last three outings. New Zealand scored 84 in their last ten to post 245 for 7, with Green run-out trying to pinch a single in the final ball of the innings.
In the chase,
Bree Illing struck early to remove Athapaththu for 11 in the fifth over. The allrounder made an aggressive start, but she miscued a pull off a short ball to depart at deep square leg. Rowe then dismissed the other opener, Vishmi Gunaratne, in the eighth over, when Jess Kerr held on to a diving catch at short fine leg.
Harshitha Samarawickrama, though, followed up her unbeaten 66 from the first ODI with another half-century. She was dominant off the back foot when the pacers and spinners dropped the ball short. Her partnership of 68 with Kavisha Dilhari (25) briefly put Sri Lanka in the ascendancy, but Eden Carson and Illing struck in the 22nd and 23rd overs respectively to rattle Sri Lanka again.
From 101 for 4, Sri Lanka needed Samarawickrama to go big, but she fell next to Rowe for 58 with a mis-hit pull to midwicket. Nilakshika Silva was lbw to Bates after missing a flick, and Anushka Sanjeewani was found short of her crease at the bowler's end when a straight drive from Sugandika Kumari took a touch off Jess Kerr's boot while rolling onto the stumps. This period firmly gave New Zealand the upper hand, and Rowe returned to pick up two of the last three batters to finish with 4 for 31. Carson claimed the last wicket to wrap up the game in the 47th over.
The third ODI is on Sunday at the same venue.
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