Summary

  • Group A, Sharjah

  • New Zealand win by eight wickets after chasing down 116 with 15 balls to spare

  • Plimmer hits 53 off 44 balls and Kerr adds 34* off 31

  • Sri Lanka 115-5 (20 overs): Athapaththu 35 (41); Kerr 2-13

  • Scroll back through live text to watch highlights

Live Reporting

by Tim Oscroft & Tom Rostance

  1. SL 53-1

    50 is up! Chamari Athapaththu feasts on a wide ball outside off and hits a dreamy drive through the field for four.

    She is looking smooth out there now.

  2. SL 46-1

    Skip Sophie Devine is going to have a bowl, looking for that partnership breaker of a ball.

  3. Tash Farrant
    England bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    It's nice to have two left handers in.

    If you have a combination of a left and a right batter in it's really annoying as you have to change your field all the time.

  4. SL 46-1

    Harshitha Samarawickrama picks up two with a nice front-foot shot as Kerr looks to loop it up into the Sharjah sky. Sri Lanka are looking well set to reach 100 for the first time, anyway.

  5. How's stat?!

    Amelia Kerr (19 wickets in 2024) is one away from surpassing Hayley Jensen (19 in 2022) for the outright second most wickets in a calendar year for New Zealand in women’s T20 internationals.

    Leigh Kasperek has the most ever with 27 in 2018.

  6. Here comes Amelia Kerr!

  7. 'Kasperek deceives batters'

    Tash Farrant
    England bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Leigh Kasperek deceives people. You think the ball is there, but then it dips at the last second - she deceives batters.

  8. Carson bowls Gunaratne for opening wicket

    Done for flight. The pleasing rattle of ball on stumps.

  9. SL 42-1

    Chamari Athapaththu 20

    Leigh Kasperek is into the attack and her first ball is carved away square on the off side by captain Chamari Athapaththu, shot of the day!

    Four all day. And another! Beautifully punched through the covers.

    New Zealand are flying through these overs though, making hay in the hot sun.

  10. How's stat?!

    Daniel Norcross
    Test Match Special commentator on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    When Chamari Athapaththu scores under 40 Sri Lanka have won 32 and lost 77.

  11. SL 34-1

    Well bowled, Eden Carson. Giving nothing up in that over and rattling through it in double quick time as well.

  12. SL 32-1

    Harshitha Samarawickrama batsGetty Images

    Harshitha Samarawickrama scampers through for a quick single, it's important for Sri Lanka to rotate the strike if they can.

  13. SL 30-1

    Well fielded! Harshitha Samarawickrama cuts hard through point but a diving fielder keeps it down to to one. New Zealand have put the brakes on nicely here, although Rosemary Mair is still serving up wides.

  14. How's stat?!

    Sri Lanka have scored fewer than 100 runs in each of their last three women’s T20 international innings.

  15. SL 28-1

    Harshitha Samarawickrama, a text commentator's dream, is the new batter and Rosemary Mair is back with ball in hand.

  16. 'Beautiful from the off-spinner'

    Tash Farrant
    England bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Eden Carson of New Zealand celebratesGetty Images

    Eden Carson bowls at a quicker pace and it dips just before it gets to Vishmi Gunaratne - beautiful from the off-spinner.

    The leg stump is knocked back and Carson has been impressive in this tournament so far.

  17. wicket

    WICKET

    Gunaratne b Carson 8 (SL 26-1)

    Got her! Vishmi Gunaratne advances down the track to try and put bat on the ball but ends up yorking herself.

    New Zealand needed that.

  18. SL 26-0

    A very good start for Sri Lanka who, remember, haven't hit 100 in the tournament so far.

  19. How's stat?!

    New Zealand have won all six of their Women’s T20 World Cup matches against Sri Lanka.

  20. SL 25-0

    Another two wides in that over. Sundries are going to end up with a hell of a knock here.