Twitter Reactions: New Zealand ride on Amelia Kerr and Sophie Devine's centuries to bounce back in style

After winning the first ODI of the three-match series, Sri Lanka Women once again locked horns with New Zealand women in the second ODI of the series on Friday, June 30 at Galle International Stadium, Galle. New Zealand captain Sophie Devine won the toss and elected to bat first. However, opener Suzie Bates couldn’t make much contribution with the bat as she departed for just 1(10) in the third over.

Her opening partner Bernadine Bezuidenhout also failed to convert her good start and got dismissed for 25(27) leaving her side on 57/2 after ten overs. After losing two wickets early, Amelia Kerr and skipper Sophie Devine got involved in a massive 229-run stand off 199 balls for the third wicket to get their team in the driver’s seat. Kerr went on to score a magnificent 108 off 106 balls while Devine plundered 137 off 121 balls as there was no hiding for Sri Lankan bowlers.

Courtesy of their massive stand, New Zealand managed to post 329/7 in their allotted 50 overs. Oshadi Ranasinghe was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts as she scalped 3/68 in her ten overs while Udeshika Prabodhani picked 2/38 in nine overs.

In reply, Sri Lanka didn’t get off to the best of the starts as opener Vishmi Gunaratne got dismissed against Lea Tahuhu for 12(16). The right-arm seamer was all over Sri Lanka with the new ball as she further got the prized scalp of Sri Lankan skipper and last match’s centurion, Chamari Athapaththu for a golden duck. Nilakshi de Silva (6 off 6) also fell prey to Tahuhu leaving her side reeling at 35/4 after 7.2 overs.

Kavisha Dilhari's valiant 84 saved her team from a mammoth defeat

While wickets kept falling from one end, Kavisha Dilhari stood strong on the other end and saved her side from an embarrassing defeat with her magnificent innings of 84(98). Courtesy of her knock, Sri Lanka finished their innings on 218 handing New Zealand a win by 111 runs. Lea Tahuhu was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand as she picked 4/31 in 8 overs. With their win, NZ levelled the series 1-1 with one game to play in the series:

Meanwhile, Twitter was abuzz with reactions on New Zealand's win. Here are some of the Tweets:

Sophie Devine & Amelia Kerr join Chamari Athapaththu & Shemaine Campbelle as the only players to score a 100 and take at least one wicket in an ODI in Sri Lanka#SLvNZ

— Mohit Shah (@mohit_shah17) June 30, 2023

Century + Wicket in a Women's ODI Match

5 times : 🏝️ Stafanie Taylor
3 times : 🇳🇿 Amelia Kerr **
3 times : 🇳🇿 Amy Satterthwaite
3 times : 🇱🇰 Chamari Athapaththu
3 times : 🏝️ Hayley Matthews

She's just 22 🥵

Future of White Ferns & Mumbai Indians 🖤💙#SLvNZ | #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/4y0cKzUeBR

— Krish (Annabel Sutherland Stan) (@143NotOut) June 30, 2023

Sri Lanka 218 all out (48.4)

Dilhari 84 (98)
Sanjeewani 17 (14)

Tahuhu 4-32
Carson 2-41

New Zealand win 111 runs, to draw level 1-1 in the series. The decider is on Monday.#SLvNZ #IWC #ICCWChttps://t.co/jrGhNX0oX6

— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) June 30, 2023

Kavisha Dilhari's 84 is the 2nd highest score batting at no 6 or lower in an ODI in Sri Lanka

Shemaine Campbelle on top of the list with 105

Some innings from Kavisha vs a high quality New Zealand spin attack#SLvNZ https://t.co/E1s8aVuYi5

— Mohit Shah (@mohit_shah17) June 30, 2023

Young Kavisha Dilhari hits her 1st ever international 50

Her 84 is the 2nd highest score for Sri Lanka v New Zealand in ODIs

An innings that could prove to be a turning point for her career#SLvNZ

— Mohit Shah (@mohit_shah17) June 30, 2023

Kavisha Dilhari scored a gutsy 84 against New Zealand.

A strike rate of 85.71.

The 22 year old is a promising star for SL's future.#SLvNZ pic.twitter.com/ki92OFXk04

— Prasanna Rodrigo (@Prasanrod) June 30, 2023

Highest score batting at #6 in a women's ODI:

90 Alex Blackwell (AUS) v IND, 2017
88 Chloe Tryon (SA) v ENG, 2022
87 Nida Dar (PAK) v BAN, 2021
85* Fran Wilson (ENG) v PAK, 2019
84 Harmanpreet Kaur (IND) v ENG, 2010
84 Kavisha Dilhari (SL) v NZ, today#SLvNZ #IWC #ICCWC

— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) June 30, 2023

SL passes 200 vs NZ in an WODI without any contribution from Chamari

🙌#SLvNZ

— Chathura Kumarasinghe (@chathudk) June 30, 2023

Highest women's ODI partnership in Asia:

229 - Sophie Devine & Amelia Kerr🇳🇿 v SL, today
223* - Anjum Chopra & Jaya Sharma🇮🇳 v PAK, 2005
221 - Muneeba Ali & Sidra Ameen🇵🇰 v IRE, 2022#SLvNZ #Cricket pic.twitter.com/LwCTTtQaiK

— Ramanand Yadav (@Ramanan44585576) June 30, 2023

And that’s the first time Sri Lanka have crossed 200 against the White Ferns! #SmallWins #SLvNZ

— Estelle Vasudevan (@Estelle_Vasude1) June 30, 2023

Tahuhu back into the attack and gets the breakthrough straightaway. Kinda strange tactics from NZ, almost like they want to stay out there for as long as possible 😵‍💫 #SLvNZ

— Estelle Vasudevan (@Estelle_Vasude1) June 30, 2023

Sophie Devine scoring a breathtaking 137 v Sri Lanka today

That's 3 more than what she managed in her last 8 ODI innings

The move to no 4 seems to have worked well for her & the team#SLvNZ

— Mohit Shah (@mohit_shah17) June 30, 2023