Twitter Reactions: New Zealand ride on Amelia Kerr and Sophie Devine's centuries to bounce back in style

After winning the first ODI of the three-match series, Sri Lanka Women once again locked horns with New Zealand women in the second ODI of the series on Friday, June 30 at Galle International Stadium, Galle. New Zealand captain Sophie Devine won the toss and elected to bat first. However, opener Suzie Bates couldn’t make much contribution with the bat as she departed for just 1(10) in the third over.

Her opening partner Bernadine Bezuidenhout also failed to convert her good start and got dismissed for 25(27) leaving her side on 57/2 after ten overs. After losing two wickets early, Amelia Kerr and skipper Sophie Devine got involved in a massive 229-run stand off 199 balls for the third wicket to get their team in the driver’s seat. Kerr went on to score a magnificent 108 off 106 balls while Devine plundered 137 off 121 balls as there was no hiding for Sri Lankan bowlers.

Courtesy of their massive stand, New Zealand managed to post 329/7 in their allotted 50 overs. Oshadi Ranasinghe was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts as she scalped 3/68 in her ten overs while Udeshika Prabodhani picked 2/38 in nine overs.

In reply, Sri Lanka didn’t get off to the best of the starts as opener Vishmi Gunaratne got dismissed against Lea Tahuhu for 12(16). The right-arm seamer was all over Sri Lanka with the new ball as she further got the prized scalp of Sri Lankan skipper and last match’s centurion, Chamari Athapaththu for a golden duck. Nilakshi de Silva (6 off 6) also fell prey to Tahuhu leaving her side reeling at 35/4 after 7.2 overs.

Kavisha Dilhari's valiant 84 saved her team from a mammoth defeat

While wickets kept falling from one end, Kavisha Dilhari stood strong on the other end and saved her side from an embarrassing defeat with her magnificent innings of 84(98). Courtesy of her knock, Sri Lanka finished their innings on 218 handing New Zealand a win by 111 runs. Lea Tahuhu was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand as she picked 4/31 in 8 overs. With their win, NZ levelled the series 1-1 with one game to play in the series:

Meanwhile, Twitter was abuzz with reactions on New Zealand's win. Here are some of the Tweets: