Nat Sciver-Brunt took hosts England to the brink of victory before retiring with calf tightness as the hosts made it two wins from two at the ICC Women\u2019s T20 World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The England skipper scored 48, putting on 64 with her predecessor Heather Knight as the host nation eventually came away with a four-wicket win over Ireland in Southampton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, Ireland had made 118 for nine, with Orla Prendergast and Louise Little each top-scoring with 26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After an hour delay due to rain, England won the toss, with Sciver-Brunt electing to put Ireland in to make the most of the overcast conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Linsey Smith broke the deadlock in the second over, getting through the defences of Amy Hunter as she tried mow the ball through the leg side and failed to connect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the other end, Lauren Bell went for a couple of early boundaries but joined in the fun when Gaby Lewis tried to scoop her first ball and picked out Heather Knight at short fine leg, the former skipper making a smart catch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alana Dalzell made a start but succumbed in Charlie Dean\u2019s first over, chipping her third ball straight to Freya Kemp at extra cover for 14 as Ireland slipped to 25 for three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With her team in trouble, Orla Prendergast mounted a counter-attack, smashing Sophie Ecclestone for 10 off her first three deliveries including a booming four down the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After changing ends, Ecclestone responded with England\u2019s fourth wicket, smart work from Amy Jones behind the wicket removing Rebecca Stokell stumped for nine, before Leah Paul almost perished first ball, her little flick bouncing just before Nat Sciver-Brunt could haul it in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The introduction of Danielle Gibson then brought the big wicket of Prendergast, the Ireland standout playing on for 26 to leave her side 57 for five after 10 overs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gibson had another when Alice Tector holed out to Sciver-Brunt for 10, with Paul falling for the same score, trapped in front by Dean (two for 11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arlene Kelly was next to fall, slicing Ecclestone (three for 22) to Knight for a straightforward catch, followed by Cara Murray three balls later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Louise Little ensured Ireland finished with a flourish however, hitting Bell for four boundaries in the final over to end unbeaten on 26 as Ireland reached 118 for nine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
England\u2019s chase began at a sedate pace, Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Amy Jones taking no chances in pursuit of a manageable total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But after her century against Sri Lanka, Wyatt-Hodge was clearly in the mood to cash in once more, hitting Arlene Kelly for successive boundaries in the third over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amy Jones was given a life when Hunter could not hold onto a tough chance off an attempted scoop, but she did not make the most of it, picking out Lewis with a lofted drive as she was dismissed for nine by Aimee Maguire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And opening partner Wyatt-Hodge fell in the exact same manner two balls later for 16, leaving England 28 for two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prendergast followed that up with a perfect yorker to remove Alice Capsey for five, bringing experienced pair Sciver-Brunt and Knight together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The duo, who were both part of the England team that lifted the ICC Women\u2019s Cricket World Cup in 2017, quickly extinguished any Irish hopes of an upset as they combined to put on 64 for the fourth wicket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prendergast (two for 17) returned and trapped Knight in front for 26, but the damage had been done by that point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was another twist in the tale though, as Sciver-Brunt hit a four to reach 48 before walking off with calf tightness with England still nine short of victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Freya Kemp was then run out but Dean and Gibson saw England home to make it two wins from two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A brilliant unbeaten half-century from Nilakshika Silva saw Sri Lanka complete a spectacular chase and claim a five-wicket win over reigning champions New Zealand at the ICC Women\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chasing 151, the Sri Lankans looked in a world of trouble at 55 for four, but Silva had other ideas, putting on a half-century stand with Kavisha Dilhari and then an unbeaten 48 with Kaushini Nuthyangana to see them home in Southampton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The defeat leaves the champions, ranked fourth in the world, on the brink following their opening defeat to the West Indies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat, with Isabella Gaze hitting a boundary off the second ball only to edge the next ball behind to a diving Nuthyangana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That brought Amelia Kerr to the crease, and she and Georgia Plimmer batted positively, adding 49.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The New Zealand skipper survived one run-out attempt but just as the pair seemed to be finding their groove, Plimmer sliced Nimasha Meepage\u2019s first ball to Hasini Perera, departing for 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sophie Devine signalled her arrival with a thumping four and along with her successor as Kiwi skipper, added real impetus to the innings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They added 43 off 32 balls before Kerr picked out Kawya Kavindi in the deep, the fielder doing brilliantly to hang onto the diving catch, making amends for a misjudgement in the previous delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Kerr gone for 45, New Zealand were 96 for three, and they then lost Brooke Halliday for seven, brilliantly caught behind off Dilhari (2\/35).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Devine looked to pick up the pace and hit the first six of the game off the bowling of Sugandika Kumari. But after clearing the ropes over deep midwicket, she tried to repeat the trick and could only find Silva on the boundary, going for 45.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was quickly followed by Izzy Sharp skying one off Chamari Athapaththu for a two-ball duck, caught by Nuthyangana despite a collision in the outfield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maddy Green (18 not out) and Jess Kerr (six not out) took New Zealand to 150 for six from their 20 overs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chase started slowly, Vishmi Gunarathne and Athapaththu adding just four from the first two overs before the Sri Lanka skipper flicked one off her pads for four over midwicket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gunaratne joined the party in the fourth over before Plimmer put down Athapaththu on six as the ball died on her. Given a reprieve, Athapaththu responded with a spectacular cut over cover for six.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She followed that up with back-to-back boundaries off Jess Kerr, before another straight drive made it 16 from the over to leave Sri Lanka on 32 without loss from five overs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gunaratne imitated her captain with successive fours as Sri Lanka, ranked seventh in the world, started to motor along. Having gone for three boundaries in four balls, Bree Illing responded with the crucial wicket of Athapaththu, cleaning her up for 27 off 19 and ending the opening stand on 45.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And having put one down earlier, Plimmer just about clung on when Gunaratne lofted one to long-on, the ball slipping through her fingers but landing in her lap before she gratefully brought it in, the opener going for 17 off Nensi Patel (2\/23).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amelia Kerr brought herself on and quickly provided a third wicket thanks to some brilliant fielding, punishing Perera for taking on a risky second with a stunning direct hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chase was beginning to fall apart, with Patel getting her second when Harshitha Samarawickrama dragged one onto her stumps for five, leaving Sri Lanka 55 for four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dilhari (17) and Silva (54 not out) went about rebuilding, adding 50 for the fifth wicket, including a brilliant six from the latter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just as they seemed to be getting Sri Lanka back into it, a mix-up left Dilhari stranded, Amelia Kerr again with the important intervention in the field, with 46 still needed from the final 30 balls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that did not deter Silva, who received valuable support from Nuthyangana (24 not out) as they gradually reeled in the total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was left to the keeper to finish it off, dragging Devine through the leg side to clinch victory, with her teammates celebrating wildly on the boundary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scores in brief<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n New Zealand v Sri Lanka \u2013 Hampshire Bowl, Southampton<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n New Zealand<\/strong> 150\/6 in 20 overs (Sophie Devine 45, Amelia Kerr 45; Kavisha Dilhari 2\/35, Chamari Athapaththu 1\/21)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sri Lanka<\/strong> 153\/5 in 19.4 overs (Nilakshika Silva 54 not out, Chamari Athapaththu 27; Nensi Patel 2\/23, Bree Illing 1\/33)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Result:<\/strong> Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by five wickets<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n England v Ireland \u2013 Hampshire Bowl, Southampton<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ireland<\/strong> 118\/9 in 20 overs (Louise Little 26 not out, Orla Prendergast 26; Sophie Ecclestone 3\/22, Danielle Gibson 2\/10, Charlie Dean 2\/11)<\/p>\n\n\n\n England<\/strong> 119\/6 in 17.3 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 48, Heather Knight 26; Orla Prendergast 2\/17, Aimee Maguire 2\/23)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Result:<\/strong> England win by four wickets<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nat Sciver-Brunt took hosts England to the brink of victory before retiring with calf tightness as the hosts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[69],"class_list":["post-13894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-cricket"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t