Sri Lanka once again tasted defeat, this time against Zimbabwe 36-71 in a Pool E game at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Zimbabwe had a fast start going up 0-4 in 2 ½ minutes. Sri Lanka made it 4-8, but Zimbabwe’s 0-4 run made it 4-12. Both sides exchanged two 3-0 scoring runs and the scores read 7-15. The quarter ended with Zimbabwe leading 10-18. Sri Lanka had 7 general play turnovers including 5 intercept passes thrown.
Head Coach Thilaka Jinadasa made quite a few changes in the 2nd quarter as she brought in Tharjini Sivalingam to replace Thishala Algama. But she too only lasted around 3 minutes, with Semini Alwis replacing Sivalingam. With all the changes, Sri Lanka managed to close the gap to 15-20 early in the quarter, but Zimbabwe once again extended the lead to 16-25, and then 17-29. Thereafter, Dulangi Wannithilake and Nicole Muzanenamo exchanged goals till it was 22-33 (12-15) at Half Time.
The 3rd quarter was disastrous for Sri Lanka as they were outscored 8-19. Wannithilake scored 6/6 as Sri Lanka had 9 general play turnovers and 5 intercept passes. At the end of the 3rd quarter, the score was 30-52 (8-19).
Zimbabwe opened the 4th quarter on a 0-5 run, making it 30-57, and another similar run midway made it 33-65. The game ended 36-71 (6-19). Sri Lanka shot 36/44 at 81.8%, while Zimbabwe had 71/82 at 86.6%. Sri Lanka had 39 turnovers to Zimbabwe’s 22. Zimbabwe made 16 intercepts, while Sri Lanka could only manage 7.
Dulangi Wannithilake made 20/23 at 87%, while Thishala Algama had 14/18 at 77.8%. For Zimbabwe, Nicole Muzanenamo had 32/34 at 94.1%, Nalani Makunde had 28/30 at 93.3% and Joice Takaidza had 11/18 at 61.1%.
Scorers
Zimbabwe – Nicole Muzanenamo 32/34, Nalani Makunde 28/30 & Joice Takaidza 11/18
Sri Lanka – Dulangi Wannithilake 20/23, Thishala Algama 14/18, Tharjini Sivalingam 1/2 & Semini Alwis 1/1
Source NewZimbabwe
