Colombo, Oct 11 (NationPress) The extraordinary performance by England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt with her stunning century and a two-wicket haul, along with Sophie Ecclestone’s remarkable figures of 4-17, propelled the former champions to a decisive 89-run victory against Sri Lanka during the Women’s World Cup matchup at R. Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.

This triumph marks England's third consecutive win in the tournament, preserving their unbeaten streak and reinforcing their position at the top of the standings.

In pursuit of 254 runs, Sri Lankan openers Hasini Perera and captain Chamari Athapaththu began cautiously, but an unfortunate incident occurred when Athapaththu sustained a hamstring injury while stretching after a run and had to be carried off, resulting in her retirement hurt on 7 during the sixth over, although she later returned to bat.

Subsequently, Vishmi Gunaratne filled in for the Sri Lankan skipper, but was removed by Charlie Dean for just 10 runs, marking England's first breakthrough in the final over of the powerplay.

Despite the early setback, Sri Lanka managed to reach 37/1 after 10 overs, showing resilience against England’s target. However, the match took a turn as Sri Lanka suffered a batting collapse, finding themselves at 116/5 after 28 overs. Only Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama provided any substantial contributions with scores of 35 and 33, respectively, while Ecclestone dominated the Lankan batting lineup.

Ultimately, Sri Lanka could not recover from the collapse, being bowled out for 164 in 45.4 overs, with Nilakshika Silva’s 23 being the third-highest score for the team.

For England, Ecclestone excelled with figures of 4-17 in her 10 overs, while Sciver-Brunt and Charlie Dean each took two wickets.

Earlier, a record-setting century from Nat Sciver-Brunt propelled England to a total of 253. This outstanding innings not only anchored England’s performance but also made her the player with the most centuries in Women’s ODI World Cups, surpassing legends Janette Brittin, Charlotte Edwards, and Suzie Bates with her fifth hundred in the tournament's history.

However, England's innings faced challenges. Openers Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont were dismissed within the first 10 overs, putting the team under pressure despite achieving 50 runs during the powerplay. A partnership of 60 runs between former and current skippers Heather Knight and Sciver-Brunt helped stabilize the innings.

The Sri Lankan bowlers maintained pressure, taking wickets consistently. England's middle order, which had shown vulnerabilities in their previous match against Bangladesh, faltered again. Inoka Ranaweera led the Sri Lankan bowling attack effectively, taking 3 wickets for 33 runs in her 10 overs, dismissing Knight, Emma Lamb, and Alice Capsey, while maintaining a commendable economy rate of 3.30.

Ranaweera received solid support from Sugandika Kumari, Kavisha Dilhari, and Udeshika Prabodhani, who contributed key wickets. At the toss, Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu had expressed that limiting England to a score between 200 and 240 would be a success - a target her bowlers nearly achieved.

Despite the collapse surrounding her, Sciver-Brunt remained steadfast, keeping the scoreboard ticking and ensuring England finished on a competitive note. She was eventually dismissed off the penultimate ball of the innings while attempting to hit a six off Prabodhani’s yorker.

Her century - the 10th of her ODI career - guaranteed that England concluded their innings strongly, setting Sri Lanka a challenging target while inscribing her name in the record books.

Brief scores:

England 253/9 in 50 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 117, Tammy Beaumont 32; Inoka Ranaweera 3-33, Udeshika Prabodhani 2-55) defeated Sri Lanka 164 all out in 45.4 overs (Hasini Perera 35, Harshitha Samarawickrama 33; Sophie Ecclestone 4-17, Nat Sciver-Brunt 2-25) by 89 runs.