England will have to defend a below-par score of 116 if they are to win their Twenty20 international series against Sri Lanka.
With the three-match contest tied at 1-1, the hosts were bowled out for a disappointing 116 after being invited to bat first in the decider at Derby.
They never got to grips with Sri Lanka’s array of slower bowlers, with Chamari Athapaththu taking three for 21 and Udeshika Prabodhani and Kavisha Dilhari both claiming two wickets apiece.
Maia Bouchier top scored with 23 while Danielle Gibson added 21 late as England were skittled in the 19th over.
The innings could not have got off to a worse start as Danni Wyatt planted a gentle wide delivery from Inoshi Fernando straight to cover.
The Sri Lankans were celebrating again at the end of the second over when a calamitous mix-up between Bouchier and Alice Capsey saw both batters at the same end, with the latter ran out.
Bouchier and captain Heather Knight did some repair work, sharing a 30-run stand in four overs, but that came to an end when Bouchier holed out to long-on.
Knight (18) and Amy Jones (20) soon followed as England slipped to 72 for five in the 11th over and it looked like they would struggle to get to 100.
But Gibson hit three fours in her 15-ball innings to get them to three figures before a flurry of late wickets saw them fail to see out their overs.
Article courtesy of
Source link
