P Sara Oval, Colombo – Venue Notes

Average First Innings Score in WT20Is at Colombo: 101

Batting First vs Batting Second in WT20Is at Colombo: Win Bat 1st - 33.3%(1), Win Bat 2nd - 66.7% (2)

SL-NZ Players in the top 10 leading run-scorers list in WT20s at the venue: Hansima Karunaratne(1), Chamari Athapaththu(5), Oshadi Ranasinghe(6), Harshitha Madhavi(10)

SL-NZ Players in the top 10 leading wicket-takers list in WT20s at the venue: Chamari Athapathth(10)

Pitch Report: This is a relatively small ground. According to Rangana Herath a few years ago, it is a pitch that is similar to Galle (of old) - initial assistance for pace and spinners in play as the match progresses. That said, it is likely to be a fresh surface and we will need confirmation, which we can only get after the toss. 

Predicted Playing XI - Sri Lanka Women (SL-W) vs New Zealand Women (NZ-W)

Sri Lanka Women: Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu©, Nilakshi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Anushka Sanjeewani(wk), Kavisha Dilhari, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandhika Kumari, Udeshika Prabodhani

New Zealand Women: Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine©, Amelia Kerr, Maddy Green, Georgia Plimmer, Bernadine Bezuidemhout, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu, Rosemary Mair, Eden Carson, Fran Jonas

Sri Lanka Women (SL-W) vs New Zealand Women (NZ-W) - Stat Box

SRI LANKA WOMEN

How Sri Lanka players have performed in matches against New Zealand

Chamari Athapaththu: Inns - 10, Runs - 215, Avg - 21, SR - 99, HS - 47,  Wickets - 3

Oshida Ranasinghe: Inns - 7, Runs - 76, Avg - 15, SR - 65, Wickets - 4, Bowl Avg - 44

Nilakshi de Silva: Inns - 5, Runs - 49, Avg - 10, SR - 89

Harshitha Madhavi: Inns - 3, Runs - 40, Avg - 20, SR - 83

Anushka Sanjeewani: Inns - 6, Runs - 36, Avg - 7

Inoka Ranaweera: Inns - 7, Wickets - 8, Bowl Avg - 20.1, Economy - 7

Kavisha Dilhari: 0w, 1w, 1w

Udeshika Prabodhani: 1w in 4 inns

How Sri Lanka players have performed in matches at P Sara, Colombo

Chamari Athapaththu: 42 runs at 14 avg and 1 wicket in 3 innings

Hansima Karunaratne: 73 runs at 36.5 Avg, 66 SR & 0w in 3 innings

Inoka Ranaweera: 0w

Oshida Ranasinghe: 36 runs at 18 avg and 2 wickets in 3 innings

Harshitha Madhavi: 18 Runs at 6 Avg, 64 SR in 3 innings

How Sri Lanka players have performed in T20Is since 2022

Chamari Athapaththu: Inns - 28, Runs - 756, Avg - 28, SR - 119, 50s - 4

Nilakshi de Silva: Inns - 27, Runs - 541, Avg - 28, SR - 104, 50s - 1

Harshitha Samarawickrama: Inns - 26, Runs - 633, Avg - 29, 50s - 4

Hasini Perera: Inns - 20, Runs - 210, Avg - 11, SR - 74

Vishmi Gunaratne: Inns - 16, Runs - 189, Avg - 13

Anushka Sanjeewani: Inns - 23, Runs - 155, Avg - 10

Oshadi Ranasinghe: Inns - 24, Runs - 147, Wickets - 30, Bowl Avg - 17.8

Inoka Ranaweera: Inns - 26, Wickets - 36, Avg - 14.3

Sugandhika Kumari: Inns - 24, Wickets - 17

Kavisha Dilhari: Inns - 24, Runs - 141, Avg - 10, Wickets - 14, Bowl Avg - 29

Kawya Kavindi: Inns - 3, Wickets - 4

Udeshika Prabodhani: Inns - 8, Wickets - 7

Sugandhika Prabodhani: 1w, 0w, 1w

NEW ZEALAND WOMEN

How New Zealand players have performed in matches against Sri Lanka

Suzie Bates: Inns - 9, Runs - 356, Avg - 40, SR - 119 

Sophie Devine: Bat Inns - 10, Runs - 206, Avg - 29, SR -  119 & Bowl Inns - 8, Wickets - 6

Amelia Kerr: 73 runs at 36 Avg, 133 SR and 5 wickets at 10 Bowl Avg in 3 innings

Hayley Jensen: 3w, 3w

Maddy Green: 38 runs at 19 Avg, 136 SR in 3 innings

Eden Carson: 2w, 1w

Hannah Rowe: 3w in 4 inns

Lea Tahuhu: Inns - 6, Wickets - 7

Leigh Kasperek: 7 wickets at 8.8 Avg, 3.3 Eco in 4 innings

How New Zealand players have performed in T20Is since 2022

Amelia Kerr: Inns - 18, Runs - 440, Avg - 31.4, SR - 111, 50s - 1, Wickets - 19, Bowl Avg - 19.5

Suzie Bates: Inns - 18, Runs - 476, Avg - 30, SR - 105, 50s - 4

Sophie Devine: Inns - 18, Runs - 408, Avg - 25.5, SR - 108, 50s - 2, Wickets - 13, Bowl Avg - 16

Maddy Green: Inns - 16, Runs - 306, Avg - 31, SR - 121

B Bezuidenhout: Inns - 4, Runs - 90, Avg - 22, SR - 155

Georgia Plimmer: Inns - 10, Runs - 58, Avg - 7, SR - 80

Brooke Halliday: Inns - 5, Runs - 47, Avg - 11, SR - 90

Lea Tahuhu: Inns - 15, Wickets - 20, Bowl Avg - 14.7

Eden Carson: Inns - 12, Wickets - 17, Avg - 11.6

Fran Jonas: Inns - 15, Wickets - 14, Avg - 16.1

Hannah Rowe: Inns - 8, Wickets - 6, Avg - 18

Sri Lanka Women (SL-W) vs New Zealand Women (NZ-W) - Fantasy Notes

Points to consider

  • Base Team picks: Suzie Bates, Amelia Kerr, Chamari Athapaththu, Sophie Devine, Lea Tahuhu, Eden Carson
  • While we saw Bernadine Bezuidenhout opening the innings and Sophie Devine batting in the middle order in the ODIs, there is a possibility that it might change in the T20s. Even if she bats in the middle order, there is not a lot of difference to consider with SL's Sanjeewani - keep Bezuidenhout in your team either way.
  • Leigh Kasperek was brought in as an injury replacement for Jess Kerr and has excellent numbers for New Zealand and it was surprising that she was not given a single game in the ODIs. In addition, she last played a T20I in 2020, therefore, we might see Rosemary Mair preferred over her in the XI in the T20Is as well.
  • Apart from Chamari Athapaththu, Oshadi Ranasinghe and Inoka Ranaweera are the safest fantasy picks. You can also consider keeping Kavisha Dilhari in your team due to her allround value.
  • If New Zealand bowls first, there is a case to load up on their bowlers and their top 3 batters especially if Devine opens the batting, else keep the top 4 batters. 
  • The common C/VC options will be Amelia Kerr and Sophie Devine, along with Chamari Athapaththu after she scored 2 centuries in the ODI series. You can consider the Sri Lankan skipper if Sri Lanka is chasing.
  • For differential C/VCs, the White Ferns bowlers are a good choice, particularly Lea Tahuhu but prefer trying them in Grand Leagues. This is also a better game for multiple combinations rather than a single team.

Fantasy XI - Sri Lanka Women (SL-W) vs New Zealand Women (NZ-W)

WK: Bernadine Bezuidenhout

BAT: Suzie Bates

AR: Chamari Athapaththu, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine, Oshida Ranasinghe

BOWL: Lea Tahuhu, Inoka Ranaweera, Eden Carson

C/VC: Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine

Alternatives: Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Fran Jonas

C/VC Alternatives: Chamari Athapaththu, Suzie Bates

Note: Return after 15 minutes of the toss for a fully updated XI, Also stay tuned to our telegram channel for regular updates

Stats Credit: Cricinfo, Cricmetric

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