In the 12th match of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2025 played in Colombo, England hammered Sri Lanka by 89 runs and added two more points to their profile to go top of the table. At the toss,
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapththu came out triumphant against her counterpart Nat Sciver-Brunt and elected to field first. England faced a double blow as they lost their openers Amy Jones (11 off 13) and Tammy Beaumont (32 off 29) within the opening powerplay. Heather Knight also lost her wicket after amassing 29 off 47. After crossing the 100-run mark, England's batting-unit collapsed as they lost six batters at a score of 168 in 34.5 overs.
In the crunch situation, skipper Nat stepped up and took Sri Lanka's bowling attack to the cleaners. The right-handed batter scored an excellent ton after facing 110 balls, her 10th in the WODI career and fifth in World Cup cricket. She concluded her knock after hammering a run-a-ball 117. Her knock included 11 boundaries (nine fours and two maximums). Riding on their skipper's batting effort, England reached a total of 253/9 in 50 overs. Inoka Ranaweera was the highest wicket-taker for Sri Lanka as she recorded 3/33 figures in her 10 overs. Udeshika Prabodhani and Sugandika Kumari got two wickets each.
Sri Lanka bundled out on 164 while chasing the target in Colombo
Pursuing the 254-run target, Sri Lanka struggled to counter left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone, who took four wickets and played an instrumental role in England's convincing win. She bagged 4/17 figures in her 10 overs and emerged as the most effective bowler in the match. Sri Lanka witnessed only three batters putting up a fight against England.
Hasini Perera (35 off 60), Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 37), and Nilakshi de Silva (23 off 38) produced decent knocks from their bats but they couldn't keep Sri Lanka in the game while their captain Chamari Athapaththu retired hurt during her innings before losing her wicket later on. Sri Lanka surrendered on 164 in 45.4 overs and England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt got the player of the match (POTM) award for her magnificent batting display. England are currently at the top of the points tally with six points earned through three off three wins.
