Samarawickrama hits 66* before first ODI is washed out
Written by I Dig Sports
No result - Sri Lanka 147 for 5 (Samarawickrama 66*, Illing 2-42) vs New Zealand
Asked to bat by Suzie Bates, Sri Lanka slid from 70 for 1 to 94 for 4, but the game had nearly evened up courtesy Samarawickrama's second fifty-plus score in ODIs. The rain, though, meant no further play, and after a three-hour break, the umpires called off the contest.
Jess Kerr ended the stand when Gunaratne edged one behind to Polly Inglis in the 19th over, following which No. 4 Kavisha Dilhari and No. 5 Manudi Nanayakkara fell to Bates and Illing respectively.
A promising partnership of 44 for the fifth wicket ended when Eden Carson ran Nilakshika Silva out for 17. Samarawickrama, with her seven fours, held one end up amid the dismissals and reached her fifty in 83 balls. She had wicketkeeper Anushka Sanjeewani (2*) for company when rain arrived.
The teams now move to Nelson for the next two games in the series.