Twitter Reactions: Lea Tahuhu and Suzie Bates sink Sri Lanka in New Zealand's Colombo romp

A complete performance from New Zealand helped the Sophie Devine-led side win by eight wickets against Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the series. Batting first, Sri Lanka struggled to get going as the in-form batter Chamari Athapaththu was run-out after a bad call. Her opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne too could not make the most of the opportunity as the home team was under a lot of pressure. 

Batting at number four, Kavisha Dilhari failed to open her account as their ship was sinking quickly. However, Harshitha Madavi and Hasini Perera took control of the situation as Sri Lanka managed to do well in the middle overs. However, the strike rate remained to be a massive concern as the Chamari Athapaththu-led side managed to score only 118 runs in 20 overs.

Notably, the White Ferns medium-pacer Lea Tahuhu was phenomenal with the ball as the 32-year-old picked up four wickets for just 21 runs. Most of the other bowlers were economical as well, and thus, Sri Lanka failed to make a mark with the bat.

Meanwhile, when it came to the chase, New Zealand showed their dominance. After Kavisha Dilhari got the better of Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Suzie Bates and Amelia Kerr took control of the situation and played some brilliant cricket. Bates went on to smash 52* runs off 53 deliveries, while Kerr added 33 runs off 33 deliveries. 

Chamari Athapaththu, meanwhile, will be unhappy with the bowlers as well as the team’s failure to make any sort of impact. Udeshika Prabodhani was sensational with the new ball, but others could not support her well as the visiting team chased the total down with eight deliveries left. With that, Sri Lanka lost the series but will be hoping to make a comeback in the third match, which is slated to take place on July 12 at P Sara Oval in Colombo.

Here's how Twitter reacted:

Suzie Bates becomes the first woman to hit a T20I fifty in 10 different countries.
🇳🇿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏝️🇿🇦🇦🇪🇦🇺🇧🇩🇮🇳☘️🇱🇰

Closest is Stafanie Taylor who has a T20I fifty in 9 countries.#SLvNZ

— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) July 10, 2023

White Ferns bowlers with two hauls of four wickets or more in T20Is:

Amy Satterthwaite
Lea Tahuhu#SLvNZ https://t.co/aehQbLboww

— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) July 10, 2023

NZ scored 100 runs in 15 overs but scored 119 in 18.4 overs. NZ should produce more batters. How long NZ depends upon suzie & sophie?
SL has good bowling but batters 👎👎#SLvNZ

— Sugu ( Harry is MagiC) (@MegHPK07) July 10, 2023

goated 🐐#SLvNZ https://t.co/q92ftUSz7f

— Kalyani Mangale (@MangaleKalyani) July 10, 2023

#SuzieBates complete her 26th Women's T20I Fifty.

This Knock is one of the Lowest Strike Rate in terms of Score a Half-Century in Full Member Nations.#SLvNZ #SLWvNZW

— Kishan Kishor (@itskishankishor) July 10, 2023

Suzie Bates now has at least one 50+ score in all ten countries/regions in which she has played a T20I:

7 in NZ
6 in ENG
3 in WI (SKN, GUY, ANT)
2 in AUS
2 in BAN
2 in SA
2 in UAE
1 in IND
1 in IRE
1 in SL#SLvNZ https://t.co/w0OWRaAMow

— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) July 10, 2023

New Zealand win by 8 wickets, and complete the series win with a game to spare.

Sri Lanka 118/6 (20.0)
Hasini 33 (36)
Harshita 23 (28)

Tahuhu 4-21
Carsoj 1-15

New Zealand 119/2 (18.4)
Bates 52 (53)
Kerr 33* (33)

Kavisha 1-22
Inoka 1-28#SLvNZ https://t.co/6yQPqYtnfp pic.twitter.com/dTzTsChyQx

— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) July 10, 2023

Cricket in Colombo #SLvNZ pic.twitter.com/P19LIrJ54v

— Mrinal (@mrinaaal) July 10, 2023

Another quality @WHITE_FERNS win. Great batting Suzie and Melie. #SLvNZ

— Asher Wilson-Goldman (@AsherGoldman) July 10, 2023

Most 50+ Scores in T20Is

38 : 🇮🇳 Virat Kohli
33 : 🇮🇳 Rohit Sharma
33 : 🇵🇰 Babar Azam
27 : 🇳🇿 Suzie Bates **

🇱🇰 #SLvNZ 🇳🇿 | #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/kmV2C8hdri

— Krish (Annabel Sutherland Stan) (@143NotOut) July 10, 2023