Suzie Bates hit a half century and the spinners collectively took three for 31 as the White Ferns overpowered Sri Lanka by 47 runs in their second match of the Women’s ICC World Twenty20 at Warner Park in St Kitts.
Sri Lanka were limited to 107 for eight from their 20 overs and never threatened the White Ferns 157 for seven with victory guaranteeing the New Zealanders a semi-final spot.
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After winning the toss and electing to bat, openers Bates and Aimee Watkins set the tone at the top of the order with a 54 run opening stand.
Bates top scored for the White Ferns for a second consecutive match, hitting 50 runs off 43 balls while Watkins struck 20 off 21.
The solid platform allowed the rest of the batting line up to play freely with Sara McGlashan (31 off 23), Elizabeth Perry (19 off 12) and Nicola Browne (20 off 12) propelling the score.
The Sri Lankan reply started positively with Chamari Atapattu striking 21 at the top of the order but the introduction of spin combined with some excellent fielding from the White Ferns meant they were always behind the chase.
Leg spinner Erin Bermingham was the most destructive, taking two for 15 while fellow tweaker Lucy Doolan chipped in with one for 16. The third spinner, Watkins, only bowled two overs and went for ten runs.
Watkins, reflecting on her side’s victory, said: “I think our batting at the death went well today. We scored a lot of runs off the last five or six overs which was really pleasing.
“I suppose looking forward to the next match (against Pakistan), it’s about making sure we get some more batters to hit form and get some runs, as well as the bowlers making sure that they hit the right lengths.”
The White Ferns have one final group match against Pakistan before facing either Australia or the West Indies in the semi-final at St Lucia.
Schedule
6/05/2010 White Ferns vs India - Group B match
Warner Park, St Kitts
+1day NZ, 6:00am
Result: White Ferns won by 10 runs
8/05/2010 White Ferns vs Sri Lanka- Group B match
Warner Park, St Kitts
+1day NZ, 6:00am
Result: White Ferns won by 47 runs
10/05/2010 White Ferns vs Pakistan - Group B match
Warner Park, St Kitts
+1day NZ, 2:00am
