Heather Knight and Sarah Taylor slammed half-centuries as England made light work of chasing 205 to defeat Sri Lanka by seven wickets
Knight scored a 76-ball 82 with 10 fours and a six, while Taylor returned unbeaten on 74 from 67 balls with 11 fours.
Heather Knight and Sarah Taylor slammed half-centuries as England made light work of chasing 205 to defeat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in a league match of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 in Taunton.
Sri Lanka elected to bat but spinner Laura Marsh took four for 45 to restrict the side to just 204 for eight, with Natalie Sciver also grabbing two wickets.
In reply, England wasted little time as Laura Winfield smashed 26 off 24 balls before Knight (82) and Taylor (74 not out) put on 148 to get their team to within seven runs of victory.
Taylor saw her side home and player of the match Marsh was thrilled with the win.
“It’s great to get another win on the board and I thought the girls played really well, we were good in the field with the ball and the girls knocked them off convincingly at the end,” she said.
“Every time you get a chance to play it’s pretty special, especially in a home World Cup, to get the chance to bowl and take some wickets was really special.”
After winning the toss, Sri Lanka didn’t get off the mark until the fourth over when Hasini Perera struck back-to-back boundaries.
Hasini Perera produced the stand-out knock of the innings as she struck 46 off 62 balls. Hasini Perera produced the stand-out knock of the innings as she struck 46 off 62 balls.
The opening batter produced the stand-out knock of the innings as she struck 46 off 62 balls.
Sciver broke the deadlock and the 24-year-old followed the wicket of Nipuni Hansika with the key dismissal of Chamari Athapaththu.
The Sri Lanka number three, who had made an unbeaten 178 against Australia, was caught for just one and wickets continued to fall at regular intervals.
When a stunning diving catch from Fran Wilson dismissed Dilani Manodara, Sri Lanka was 133 for six with lower-order runs from Oshadhi Ranasinghe (26) and Ama Kanchana (34 not out) vital.
In reply, Knight followed up her century against Pakistan with a 50 brought up with a back-foot punch through the covers off just 57 balls.
Taylor followed her to 50 soon after. She reached the landmark off 58 balls when a full toss from Athapaththu was dispatched to the boundary through midwicket.
Knight was caught at midwicket by Madhavi but England was not to be stopped as Taylor saw them home.
Shashikala Siriwardena admitted Sri Lanka didn’t get enough runs.
“It was good to win the toss and bat first because this is a good wicket to bat on but I think we were 100 runs short,” she said.
“We’re really disappointed but we’ve had a tough three matches in a row in the tournament, we’re hoping to do well in the next four matches.”
Scores in brief:
England beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets at The County Ground, Taunton
Sri Lanka 204-8, 50 overs (Hasini Perera 46, Ama Kanchana 34 not out, Shashikala Siriwardena 33, Dilani Manodara 28; Laura Marsh 4-45, Natalie Sciver 2-32)
England 206-3, 30.2 overs (Heather Knight 82, Sarah Taylor 74 not out, Laura Winfield 26, Tamsin Beaumont 12; Ama Kanchana 2-38)
Player of the match – Laura Marsh (England)
Next matches – England v South Africa, The County Ground, Bristol, 5 July; Sri Lanka v India, The County Ground, Derby, 5 July
