A merciless unbeaten 106 off 61 balls from captain Chamari Athapaththu sent Sri Lanka scorching to the target of 131 with 27 balls and nine wickets to spare against Ireland.  Athapaththu’s fourth T20I hundred was her first in World Cups, and was brutal from start to finish. She had begun the innings with a scintillating boundary through cover, and finished it with an equally domineering stroke through the same region.

Ireland had recovered from a poor start to post 130 for 5, thanks largely to a 59 off 50 from their own captain Gaby Lewis. But their bowlers were no match for Athapaththu in this mood, and only Orla Prendergast could provide a breakthrough, dismissing opener Imesha Dulani.

Sri Lanka needed desperately to raise their net run rate to keep even their razor-thin hopes of making semi-finals alive. Athapaththu’s innings has raised their NRR to less than negative one, with Scotland still to play, and other matches remaining in the group.

Athapaththu unleashes

Following the disheartening loss to West Indies, Athapaththu had called herself a failure as a captain owing to her never having led Sri Lanka to a World Cup semi-final. [She is the only captain to lead Sri Lanka to an Asia Cup win, however]. In this innings she seemed intent on at least keeping Sri Lanka alive in the tournament. She drilled her first ball through cover and walloped eight further boundaries in the powerplay, peppering the legside boundaries in particular.

Her pace barely relented when the field went back. She reached 50 off the 29th ball she faced, and continued to clobber Ireland’s bowlers. Her slog-swept six off Cara Murray in the ninth over was the 100th of her career. The square leg, cover and straight regions were her favourite hitting zones, and though Prendergast managed occasionally to slow her down, she went to triple figures off the 58th delivery she faced, having lionised strike right throughout. By the end of Sri Lanka’s innings, she had hit 79% of their runs.

Gaby Lewis revives Ireland

It was not until the 14th ball of the innings that Ireland managed a run off the bat. By that stage, they had already lost two wickets. Rebecca Stokell attempted to shock Ireland into motion with boundaries down the ground, but after she was dismissed in the fifth over, Lewis found her timing. She hit her first boundary – a pulled four – off the last ball of the powerplay and would continue to find the pull shot productive through the course of her innings. She was also strong square of the wicket on the off side.

She was joined in a 66-run fourth-wicket stand by Leah Paul, who hit 20 off 41. Lewis got to a half-century after Paul was dismissed, but was visibly drained from the effort in hot conditions by British standards. She faded late in the innings, but Ireland had Alice Tector to help give the innings a final push, with 28 off 21.

Kaushini shines behind the stumps again

Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper-batter Kaushini Nuthyangana has been having a sparkling tournament so far, and did not take long to impose herself in this match. When Ireland’s openers took off for a leg bye first over, Nuthyangana swooped on the ball, turned, and threw down the stumps to catch Amy Hunter centimetres short. After a straightforward stumping to remove Prendergast, she also anticipated a scoop from Leah Paul, which she intercepted to pluck another wicket out of the air.

Scores:
Sri Lanka Women 134 for 1 in 15.3 overs  (Chamari Athapaththu 106*, Imesha Dulani 20; Orla  Prendergast 1-22) beat Ireland Women  130 for 5 in 20 overs (Gaby Lewis 59, Rebecca Stokell 13, Leah Paul 20, Alice Tector 28*; Mithali Ayodhya 1-18, Sugandika Kumari 1-26, Chamari Athapaththu 1-23, Nilakshika Silva 1-12) by nine wickets

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After hectic double-headers and triple-headers, the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 only has one game in store for us on Wednesday, and it should be a mouthwatering contest. Hosts England are among the favourites to lift the title, and their performances so far have backed that tag. Their three wins so far have ranged from dominant to comfortable, and boast of a net run rate of 2.49. West Indies,  meanwhile, beat the defending champions New Zealand and are also on three wins out of three. And they meet in the first game of this World Cup at Lord’s – the venue for the final – with both teams one win away from booking a semi-final berth.

England have been mighty with the bat and are the only team to post two 200-plus totals in this World Cup, while West Indies have two bowlers among the top three wicket-takers in Aaliyah Alleyne and Hayley Matthews. Matthews was especially instrumental in restricting Sri Lanka to 98 in their previous fixture.

England will still be without their regular captain and star allrounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, with Charlie Dean standing in to lead in her absence. Sciver-Brunt’s replacement Sophia Dunkley hit a half-century, and Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson showed off their finishing chops as they romped to 200 for 5 in a 38-run win over Scotland in the last match, and England will likely go with the same team against West Indies.

England XI (probable): Amy Jones (wk), Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Sophia Dunkley, Alice Capsey, Heather Knight,  Freya Kemp, Dani Gibson, Charlie Dean (capt), Sophie Ecclestone,  Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell

West Indies will also likely stay unchanged from the team that beat Sri Lanka.

West Indies XI (probable): Hayley Matthews (capt),  Deandra Dottin,  Shemaine Campbell (wk), Stafanie Taylor,  Jahzara Claxton, Chinelle Henry, Jannillea Glasgow,  Aaliyah Alleyne,  Afy Fletcher,  Karishma Ramharack,  Ashmini Munisar

England’s strike bowler Lauren Bell has just two wickets from three games and went wicketless for 35 runs against Scotland. But at Lord’s, where the pitch may have a bit more for fast bowlers, Bell could dictate proceedings in the powerplay with her ability to make the new ball talk.

This will be the first game of this competition at Lord’s, which will host three more games including the final – where both teams would want a return here. The last game held at Lord’s was the first England-New Zealand men’s Test, which ended in four days on June 7. The conditions could be more conducive for swing and seam.

[Cricinfo]

The ICC, UNICEF UK and the ECB will host a “special match day takeover” at Lord’s when England and West Indies play their Women’s T20 World Cup group 2 match at the venue on June 24, “to raise both funds and awareness for UNICEF’s projects supporting children around the world.”

Nabhaan Rizwan, the two-time BAFTA-nominated actor, will be part of the activation and walk out with the World Cup trophy along with former England cricketer Isa Guha. “As a huge cricket fan, I can’t wait to see England play West Indies for this ICC Women’s T20 World Cup game, during which fans will also be able to donate to support UNICEF’s work for every child,” Rizwan said in an ICC statement.

The activation will also support UNICEF UK’s Making Childhood Unstoppable initiative, the ICC said. “The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is a powerful platform to bring people together, and this match day takeover at Lord’s is an important opportunity to support UNICEF’s life-changing work for children around the world. Through Cricket 4 Good, our partnership with UNICEF continues to show how cricket can create impact beyond the boundary, and we hope fans at Lord’s and those watching globally will get behind this cause on 24 June.”

England and West Indies are both undefeated at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup, with three wins each, and the winner of Wednesday’s fixture has a strong chance of finishing on top of Group 2.

[Cricinfo]