White Ferns need to win this game [Twitter]
The New Zealand Women will go up against the Sri Lankan Women at Paarl in match number 17 of the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023. The contest marks the final Group A fixture for both sides in the tournament.
The Sri Lanka Women are currently placed at number two on the Group A points table. They registered thrilling wins upfront over South Africa and Bangladesh before their confidence was jolted by a 10-wicket hammering from Australia in their next game.
To strengthen their position for the semi-finals, Chamari Athapaththu and co. need to defeat the New Zealanders as a win here would taken them to six points.
The New Zealand Women, on the other hand, will also be desperate for a win as it equals them up with Sri Lanka. They suffered huge defeats to Australia and South Africa in their first two matches, by 97 and 65 runs respectively. However, they flayed the Bangladeshis by 71 runs in their next outing to register their opening points of the event.
Match Details
Date & Time: February 19, 10:30 PM IST
Venue: Boland Park, Paarl
Live Telecast & Streaming: Star Sports Network, Disney + Hotstar
Pitch Report
The surface at Paarl’s Boland Park is known for assisting pacers from time to time. In the four matches played at the venue this tournament, the average first innings score has been 137.
Predicted Playing XI
NZ-W: Bernadine Bezuidenhout (wk), Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (c), Maddy Green, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu, Jess Kerr, Eden Carson and Molly Penfold.
SL-W: Harshitha Samarawickrama, Chamari Athapaththu (c), Vishmi Gunaratne, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Nilakshi de Silva, Malsha Shehani, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Ama Kanchana, Sugandika Kumari, Inoka Ranaweera and Achini Kulasuriya.
Cricket Exchange Fantasy Tips
Wicketkeeper: Bernadine Bezuidenhout
Batters: Harshitha Samarawickrama, Chamari Athapaththu, Maddy Green, Georgia Plimmer, Nilakshi de Silva
All-Rounders: Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine
Bowlers: Eden Carson, Sugandika Kumari, Malsha Shehani
Captain: Sophie Devine
Vice-Captain: Harshitha Samarawickrama
Prediction
The Sri Lanka Women are considered as favourites to overcome their New Zealand counterparts to finish their Group A campaign on a strong note.
 "Aakash Saini")
