New Zealand cruise to comfortable win over Sri Lanka
Cricket
New Zealand will go into their final group fixture against Pakistan
(Web Desk) - New Zealand strengthened their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals with victory over Sri Lanka at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Georgia Plimmer’s quickfire half-century helped New Zealand to a convincing eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka to boost their chances of a top two finish in a highly-competitive Group A, reaching a winning score of 118/2 with 2.3 overs remaining.
New Zealand will go into their final group fixture against Pakistan on Monday knowing exactly what they require to qualify from a group in which four teams remain mathematically in contention to reach the final four.
But this result means that Sri Lanka become the first team to see their tournament come to a complete end, departing without a win in their now-concluded group schedule.
Sri Lanka were unable to reach the knockout stages after three defeats in three games, but put in a much-improved performance thanks largely to captain Chamari Athapaththu’s classy 35 at the top of the order.
White Ferns all-rounder Melie Kerr ensured that Athapaththu didn’t kick on after a decent start, and played a crucial role in stifling Sri Lanka through the middle overs, taking 2/13 in four overs.
And Kerr (34*) was part of a superb batting effort from the New Zealand top order as they eased to victory in good time, earning them a sizeable net run rate boost that could yet prove significant.
