Devine and Jensen the stars for the White Ferns who get their World Cup off to a winning start in Perth
Match Report:
ScorecardClassy Kiwis comfortably cater for Sri Lanka
New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine was left counting her lucky stars after guiding her team to a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup clash at the WACA Ground.
In reply to Sri Lanka's 7-127, NZ were behind the eight ball after crawling to 2-65 after 12 overs of Saturday's match.
It would have been far worse if not for a couple of costly dropped chances.
Suzie Bates was dropped on 0 at slip and went on to make 13, but the most costly drop was that of Devine, who was on 19 when she was grassed in the deep.
The in-form opener went on to make an unbeaten 75 off 55 balls in a match-winning knock, guiding her team to victory with 14 balls to spare in front of 2004 fans.
She was also dropped on 60 later in the innings, having extended her world record sequence of T20I half-centuries to six.
Six consecutive T20I fifties for Sophie Devine. No other player, male or female, has ever hit more than four in a row in the format 🤯#NZvSL | #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/fLYBrWf8AB— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) February 22, 2020
"You've just got to ride your luck don't you?" Devine said.
"Sometimes they catch you, sometimes they don't. It's about making them pay.
"I was pretty fortunate to get another opportunity and I wanted to pull my head back in and make sure I was there at the end of the game."
The result leaves both India and NZ with 1-0 records in Group A.
Australia (0-1) probably need to beat Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and NZ in order to be one of the two teams to progress from their group.
Sri Lanka got off to a flying start after being sent in to bat, moving to 0-51 after six overs on the back of Chamari Atapattu's 41 off 30 balls.
But the dismissal of Hasini Madushika (20) and Atapattu slowed the run rate, with Sri Lanka losing wickets at regular intervals after that.
Hayley Jensen snared 3-16, while Amelia Kerr chipped in with two wickets.
Devine loomed as a key wicket for Sri Lanka in their bid for victory, but they let the chance slip through their fingers - literally.
"They say catches win matches ... the missed opportunities probably cost us the game," Sri Lanka coach Harsha de Silva said.
2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup
Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham
February 21:India won by 17 runs
February 24: Australia v Sri Lanka, WACA Ground
February 27: Australia v Bangladesh, Manuka Oval
March 2: Australia v New Zealand, Junction Oval
March 5: Semi-final 1 & Semi-final 2, SCG
March 8: Final, MCG
For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE
* All matches will be broadcast on Fox Cricket and Kayo, while Australia’s matches will also be broadcast on the Nine Network