Women’s WC: Sri Lanka, NZ spl

Colombo: Sri Lanka and New Zealand shared points as their Women’s World Cup match was abandoned due to persistent rain after a strong batting performance by the hosts here on Tuesday.

Opting to bat, Nilakshika De Silva’s belligerent fifty was the perfect antithesis to skipper Chamari Athapaththu’s graceful half-century as Sri Lanka posted a challenging 258/6.

However, rain lashed the R Premadasa Stadium just before New Zealand began their chase and the match could not resume from that point.

It was a disappointing outcome for Sri Lanka, who remained in search of their first win of the tournament. They looked in control for large parts of the match and had a genuine opportunity to seal victory.

“We assessed the conditions and played good cricket. Unfortunately, we can’t complete the game. Next game is crucial. We need to win three games. Hope we can play without any rain,” Athapaththu said after the game.

After the washout, Sri Lanka continued to stay at the seventh place, having collected 2 points from four games while New Zealand, who now have 3 points, were static at No. 5 on the table. New Zealand also have two losses.