NZ-W vs SL-W 2025, 2nd WT20I Review: Bates-Halliday lead White Ferns to win as hosts level series

In the second WT20I, New Zealand Women put on a great display in Christchurch, defeating Sri Lanka Women by seven wickets to tie the three-match series at one. The hosts easily chased down the goal of 114 thanks to a great bowling effort from Bree Illing and a fantastic batting performance from captain Suzie Bates and Brooke Halliday.

The bowlers from New Zealand took full advantage of the conditions after winning the toss and choosing to bowl. With a breakthrough in the opening over and figures of 2 for 18 in just her second Twenty20 International, Illing got off to the perfect start. Flora Devonshire (1 for 12) and Jess Kerr (2 for 29) also contributed a few runs with her.

With captain Chamari Athapaththu having trouble scoring, the visiting team’s innings never got underway. In the end, Kerr got rid of her for 23 of 29 balls. The team suffered a serious blow when Devonshire hit in her opening over, dismissing Kavisha Dilhari for 12 at 46/3 in the ninth over.

In the meantime, the visitors reached 113/7 thanks to a crucial 54-run partnership between Manudi Nanayakkara (35 off 32) and Nilakshika Silva (20 off 22). After falling behind in the second over due to bowling from Sugandika Kumari, the White Ferns, who were chasing 114, lost Georgia Plimmer early for just 4. Emma McLeod added 11 off 13 balls and came in for the seventh over.

But Suzie Bates did a fantastic job anchoring the innings.

She played her shots carefully, scoring 47 off 46 balls with just four boundaries, knowing that she could easily control the necessary run rate. The hosts were only 29 runs away from winning when she was caught and bowled in the 15th over, ending her knock.

After that, Halliday made sure there were no problems by hitting several boundaries in the 16th and 18th overs. She finished undefeated at 46 off 40 balls, which was her greatest T20I score. With nine balls remaining, the team won after reaching 117/3 in 18.3 overs. The third and final Twenty20 International will take place in Dunedin on Tuesday, March 18, with the series officially tied at one.