Big picture - Both sides looking for a spark
Someone find a power pylon, a generator… even a car battery would do. Attach the wires to Sri Lanka's Women's World Cup 2025 campaign. Two games (and one washout) in, it desperately needs to be shocked to life. Although they are playing at home, this World Cup schedule was always going to be a challenge - they were playing the teams they have struggled most against in their first three games. And so far, only that point from the washout against Australia is keeping some sort of hope alive.
New Zealand have had a rough start to the tournament too, thumped by Australia in their opener, before South Africa strode past them with relative ease. But they do, more recently, have that win against Bangladesh to hold them over. Their campaign doesn't quite need the defibrillator as badly as Sri Lanka do. But a loss in Colombo on Tuesday would be a major blow to their hopes of qualifying for the semi-final, with South Africa and England now rolling into serious form, while Australia and India have more-or-less played like the tournament favourites they were expected to be.
The problem for New Zealand, is that Sri Lanka have beaten them in their most-recent ODI series in Sri Lanka - a three-match series in Galle in 2023, which Sri Lanka won 2-1. The problem for Sri Lanka, is that both those ODI victories had been founded on truly epic performances from Chamari Athapaththu, with the 140 not out off 80 balls in the conversation for being her best innings ever.
In any case, New Zealand's batting - however lacklustre by their own standards - is in significantly better shape this tournament than Sri Lanka's has been. All three New Zealand innings have produced totals between 225 and 240. Against England on Saturday, Sri Lanka nosedived to 164 at this very venue.
New Zealand meanwhile, are fresh from rolling Bangladesh over for 127. That performance was more a result of their seamers - Jess Kerr and Lea Tahuhu taking three apiece - where it is spin that usually decides matches at Khettarama. Legspinner Amelia Kerr has five wickets in the tournament, but may need a little more support from the other spinners than she has had so far, if New Zealand are to make a statement on Tuesday.
Form guide
Sri Lanka LLLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WLLWW
In the spotlight - Amelia Kerr and Hasini Perera
Sri Lanka will be extremely wary of Amelia Kerr's bowling, given she averages 24.62 in Asia. But this tournament is yet to see the best of Kerr the batter, and perhaps their stop in Sri Lanka is the place to change that. She has played only three innings on the island - in that 2023 series. But she did hit a 108 off 106 balls in the only match of that series that New Zealand won. It's not as if she's been especially bereft of form, having made some starts at No. 3 this World Cup. But each of those innings has been slightly laboured. Kerr firing at first-drop would make New Zealand a much more daunting opposition towards the end of this tournament.
Sri Lanka batter Hasini Perera has attracted a little bit of criticism over the past week or so. While Sri Lanka's top order fails, she has been an easy target, partly because of her long-term record. After 53 ODI innings, Hasini has a high score of 46. She has, this year, been asked to sacrifice her preferences for the team, however. Sri Lanka see Vishmi Gunaratne as an investment in the future, and have sent her down to No. 4, where, it is hoped, she will have a greater chance of success in this development phase of this career. And Hasini, who averages a respectable 33 at No. 4, has been asked to open. She top-scored for Sri Lanka in the loss to England, so clearly she is not out of her depth at the top of the order. But she needs a good score - a fifty ideally - to fend the critics off.
Pitch and conditions - More rain (perhaps). More spin (for sure)
Colombo's weather continues to be as it has been in the last two weeks - humid, hot, with frequent showers rolling through. Expect the track to take good turn again, as it did on Saturday.
Team news - Spotlight on Sri Lanka's attack
Sri Lanka will think about Dewmi Vihanga's place in the XI. She offers offspin and some hitting with the bat, which is why Sri Lanka picked her against England ahead of another seamer. But she does also tend to be a liability in the field. Seamer Malki Madara, who impressed in the tri-series earlier in the year, also waits in the squad.
Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Hasini Perera, 2 Chamari Athapaththu (capt), 3 Harshith Samarawickrama, 4 Vishmi Gunaratne, 5 Kavisha Dihari, 6 Nilakshika Silva, 7 Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), 8 Dewmi Vihanga/Malki Madara/Achini Kulasuriya, 9 Sugandika Kumari, 10 Udeshika Prabodhani, 11 Inoka Ranaweera
New Zealand may retain their winning XI.
New Zealand (possible): 1 Suzie Bates, 2 Georgia Plimmer, 3 Amelia Kerr, 4 Sophie Devine (capt), 5 Brooke Halliday, 6 Maddy Green, 7 Isabella Gaze (wk), 8 Jess Kerr, 9 Rosemary Mair, 10 Lea Tahuhu, 11 Eden Carson
Stats and trivia
New Zealand had never lost an ODI against Sri Lanka, until they lost twice in one series in 2023. Their overall record is 13 wins to those two losses. They won by big margins against Sri Lanka this year as well, but those two games had been played in New Zealand
Amelia Kerr enjoys bowling in Asia, but her batting in the continent has not been quite as strong - she averages 36.37 in Asia, down from her overall average of 41.18
Inoka Ranaweera has been Sri Lanka's best bowler by a distance in their first two completed matches. So far this tournament, she has seven wickets at an average of 11.29
