Twitter Reactions: Suzie Bates’ astounding all-round show propels New Zealand to resounding win in first T20I against Sri Lanka

New Zealand women scripted a remarkable comeback in the first T20I against Sri Lanka on Saturday, July 8 after the loss of the ODI series as former skipper Suzie Bates produced an astounding all-round effort to help her side draw first blood in the three-match T20I series.

Sri Lanka registered an emphatic win in the ODI series against New Zealand recently, winning two out of the three games that were played. The side looked to put in a similar performance as the T20I series got underway; however, the visitors had a different plan in mind.

Coming into bat first after losing the toss, Sri Lanka got off to the worst possible start to the game as skipper Chamari Athapaththu was sent packing for a golden duck. Losing one of their most important batters right at the start of the innings, derailed the host’s plans further.

Vishmi Gunaratne was the highest run-getter for Sri Lanka while setting up the target, she amassed 26 runs in 28 deliveries before she was caught and bowled by Amelia Kerr. Harshitha Samarawickrama failed to make an impact with the bat as well, scoring just 12 runs.

Things went from bad to worse for Sri Lanka as the entirety of the middle order did not impress. Hansima Karunaratne scored seven runs, Nilakshi de Silva amassed 12 runs, and Anushka Sanjeewani and Oshadi Ranasinghe each added 18 runs to the board. In the first innings, Sri Lanka only managed to score 106 runs for New Zealand to chase.

Suzie Bates helps New Zealand seal first T20I 

Coming into the chase, Bernadine Bezuidenhout was sent packing for just four runs. However, it was the knock of Suzie Bates that helped the White Ferns register a resounding win. After taking a wicket in two overs in the first innings, Bates followed it up with a knock of 44 runs during the run chase. 

Furthermore, Amelia Kerr added another 34 runs on the board, with Georgia Plimmer scoring the winning runs, accumulating 16* runs in 18 deliveries. New Zealand chased down the target and won the game by five wickets. 

Here are the top tweets from the game: