Skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt’s record fifth Women’s World Cup century and spinner Sophie Ecclestone’s remarkable spell led England to an 89-run win over Sri Lanka, marking their third straight victory and putting them at the top of the standings on Saturday.
Sciver-Brunt played a captain’s knock, scoring a brilliant 117 off 117 balls (9×4, 2×6), guiding England to 253/9. Ecclestone, the world’s No 1 bowler, then turned the game around with figures of 4/17 as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 164 in 45.4 overs.
With three consecutive wins, England now lead the eight-team standings with six points, surpassing defending champions Australia (five points).
After being dropped on three by Udeshika Prabodhani, the English skipper took full advantage of the chance
to score her 10th ODI century—and a record fifth in Women’s World Cups—before being dismissed off the penultimate delivery.
Chasing a challenging target, Sri Lanka’s hopes rested on skipper Chamari Athapaththu, who retired hurt on seven in the sixth over due to cramps and had to be stretchered off.
Opener Hasini Perera (35) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33) steadied the chase with a 58-run partnership that seemed promising at 95/1. However, Ecclestone triggered a collapse, causing the home side to lose three wickets for eight runs in four overs.
Ecclestone extracted sharp turn and bounce to deliver a mesmerizing 10-over spell, dismissing Perera, Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, and Athapaththu to single-handedly derail the chase.
Ecclestone first removed Perera, who slogged to Alice Capsey at mid-on. In the next over, she dismissed Samarawickrama, caught by Lauren Bell. The left-arm spinner then bowled Dilhari (4) with a ball that skidded through, reducing Sri Lanka to 103/4 at the halfway mark.
Athapaththu returned to resume her innings but soon fell to Ecclestone, bowled by a sharply turning delivery that stunned the home crowd.
Sciver-Brunt capped her all-round performance with two wickets (2/25 in five overs), while Charlie Dean also impressed (2/47 in nine overs) as Sri Lanka suffered their second defeat in three matches.
Earlier, veteran left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera, who took four wickets against India in the tournament opener, continued her fine form with a superb 3/33, including a double-wicket maiden that disrupted England’s momentum in the middle overs.
Off-spinner Kavisha Dilhari provided solid support with 1/34 from eight overs, but Sciver-Brunt remained resilient after her early reprieve.
Sciver-Brunt’s magnificent innings ended on the penultimate delivery, but not before she boosted England’s total with a late flourish, adding 49 runs in the final five overs with her at the crease.
Put in to bat, England had a shaky start, losing two wickets inside the powerplay. However, Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight steadied the innings with a 60-run partnership off 74 balls.
The partnership looked set to take the game away when Inoka struck against the run of play with a crucial dismissal via a dramatic late review. Knight’s miscued reverse sweep was caught at first slip, and Sri Lanka took their final review with just one second left. Replays confirmed a glove touch, ending her knock at 29 (47b, 2×4) and shifting the momentum in Sri Lanka’s favour.
Inoka returned in the 35th over with a brilliant double-wicket maiden. First, she bowled Emma Lamb (13) behind her legs with a ball that dipped and spun past the bat to hit the stumps. Then, she deceived Alice Capsey with flight and drift, leading to a sharp stumping by wicketkeeper Anushka Sanjeewani.
Sophia Dunkley (18 off 30) fell to a superb return catch by Dilhari, as England lost three wickets for just 34 runs between overs 30 and 40.
The run rate dipped below four per over, and it took a reverse sweep from Charlie Dean to break a seven-over boundary drought.
(With agency inputs)
