Nilakshi de Silva smashed an unbeaten 55 off 28 balls, breaking her own record for the fastest 50+ by a Sri Lankan woman in ODIs. Her late blitz helped Sri Lanka post a strong total against New Zealand in a must-win Women’s ODI World Cup clash in Colombo.
Veteran Sri Lankan cricketer Nilakshi de Silva made history in the high-profile ODI World Cup clash against New Zealand at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium. She blasted an unbeaten 55 off just 28 balls, setting the record for the fastest 50+ by a Sri Lankan woman in ODIs. Remarkably, Nilakshi broke her own record, having previously reached a 50 in 28 balls against India last year.
Notably, Sri Lanka have not won any of their matches so far in the women’s ODI World Cup. Thus, the clash against New Zealand holds significant value for the Chamari Athapaththu-led side. The captain led from the front in the match, scoring 52 runs, while her opening partner, Vishmi Gunaratne, scored 42. The stitched an opening partnership of 101 runs, which set the momentum for the middle order batters to capitalise.
Batting at three, Hasini Perera scored 44 runs, but since then, the run rate seemed to suffer and Lanka needed a strong finish to end the innings. That’s when Nilakshi stood up and took control of the innings. She batted at a strike rate of 196.43, and that could prove decisive.
Need to concentrate on line and length: Gunaratne
After the first innings, opener Gunaratne noted that the team batted well and also lauded Nilakshi for helping Sri Lanka post a competitive total on the board. She added that the surface was good to bat and if the bowlers manage to concentrate on line and length, they can get the job done.
“I think we have a good score on the board. We had some partnerships also. I was trying to remind myself to stay calm and play the natural game. Our strike rate was also good. We didn’t think much. I think the pitch is a good one to bat. We need to concentrate on line and length. Nilakshi is a good batter. She has helped us put up a good score,” Gunaratne said.