Australia Women vs Sri Lanka Women | ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, 2025 | Match 5

The rain gods have won! It is official! The match has been CALLED OFF. Well, the rain was persistent and even if it stopped, it would have taken a couple of hours to make it game-ready. The points will be shared. That is all from this game. It's time for the clash of the tournament to unfold. It's India Women taking on Pakistan Women here at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Let's hope we get clear skies for the big event. Join us on the 5th of October at 9.30 am GMT. Do join us earlier for the build up. Till then, cheers!

UPDATE - 11.30 am GMT - The live visual shows the spectators patiently waiting for the rain to ease up but the ground has already taken some beating and will take a while to clear things up but for that, the rain needs to stop first and that looks far from our wishes. Stay tuned.

UPDATE - 11.05 am GMT - It's absolutely pouring right now in Colombo and things are looking very gloomy. Not a single soul on the ground and as bad as it sounds, even the forecast isn't good but let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.

UPDATE - 10.25 am GMT - Gloomy skies and constant drizzle in Colombo have led to covers being put in place at the cricket ground firmly, making play uncertain. If it continues like this, we could be losing overs and potentially in for an even shorter game. Fingers crossed the weather improves soon.

The Australian women's team's camp would be a happy one with the news coming in from New Zealand that the Australian men's team has defeated the Kiwis in the third and final T20I, securing a 2-0 series win over New Zealand, with the second match washed out. Captain Mitchell Marsh scored a crucial century (103) in a low-scoring chase of 157, while the rest of the batting lineup struggled. Sean Abbott's 13 was the second-highest score, with Marsh's knock being the standout performance.

News coming in is that Shubman Gill has been appointed as India's new ODI captain, replacing Rohit Sharma, who stepped down after four years at the helm. Gill will lead the team in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia, starting October 19. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who had retired from T20Is and Tests, will return to the ODI squad. Shreyas Iyer has been named vice-captain of the ODI team. The decision to appoint Gill was made collectively by the selection committee, headed by Ajit Agarkar, in coordination with head coach Gautam Gambhir and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, to prepare Gill for the 2027 ODI World Cup. The upcoming series will also feature five T20Is starting from October 29, with Suryakumar Yadav continuing as captain for the T20I series.

UPDATE - 9.32 am GMT - We should be starting by now, but due to extremely gloomy conditions, the ground staff are waiting for it to clear up. Well, things have turned upside down as the rain has returned and the covers have been brought on. The entire ground is covered again. Stay tuned.

PITCH REPORT - Alan Wilkins and Aaron Finch are pitchside and they reckon that the pitch at R. Premadasa Stadium looks favorable for batting, with a dry, straw-colored surface that could offer some pace. Alan Wilkins and Aaron Finch expect a good contest, with bowlers needing to pitch the ball up and target the stumps to trouble the batsmen. Length will be crucial for bowlers to succeed on this pitch.

Vishmi Gunarathne is up for a quick chat now. She said Sri Lanka Women are confident and ready to face Australia, despite their previous loss. She's excited to play her first ODI against Australia in front of a huge home crowd. While acknowledging Australia's strength, Gunarathne emphasized that one loss won't define their tournament, and they're looking forward to a great contest.

Annabel Sutherland is up for a quick chat. She expressed that Australia Women are excited and ready for the match after a good lead-in, particularly benefiting from the challenging series against India. She highlighted the importance of building significant partnerships during the middle overs in the 50-over format and noted that the top order is eager to contribute runs and set up a strong foundation for the team today.

UPDATE - 9 am GMT - Not the start we were hoping for in this Super Saturday clash, as it is raining in Colombo and the entire field has been covered up. The TOSS HAS BEEN DELAYED due to rain. Let's hope it eases away quickly. The live visual shows that the rain has stopped and the ground staff have started their work. The Aussies are doing their warm-up drills near the ropes as well. Stay tuned.

This match promises to be an exciting encounter between two teams with different strengths and weaknesses. While Sri Lanka will be looking to make history, Australia will be determined to continue its dominance. The home crowd will undoubtedly play a significant role in motivating Sri Lanka, but will it be enough to overcome Australia's experience and skill? One thing is certain, this match is going to be a thrilling contest. Stay tuned for toss and team updates.

Australia Women, on the other hand, are looking to continue their dominance in the tournament. After a shaky start against New Zealand, they bounced back with a comfortable win, thanks to Ashleigh Gardner's century and a stellar bowling performance. Gardner's composed hundred helped Australia post a total of over 320, and the bowlers did the rest, restricting New Zealand to 277. Sophie Molineux, Alana King, and Annabel Sutherland were instrumental in Australia's win. Will Australia's star-studded lineup be too much for Sri Lanka to handle?

Sri Lanka Women are looking to make history against the Aussies, having never registered a win in 11 previous encounters. However, with the home crowd behind them, Chamari Athapaththu and her team will be eager to script something special. Lankan Women showed promise in their opening game against India, restricting them to 269/8 before falling short in the chase. Inoka Ranaweera was the standout bowler, finishing with figures of 4/46. If it hadn't been for a partnership between Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur, the hosts for this game might have caused an upset in the curtain raiser. Can Sri Lanka build on that performance and cause an upset against the defending champions?

The ICC Women's World Cup is heating up, and fans are in for a treat! Australia Women, the defending champions, are back in action against Sri Lanka Women at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Both teams have had varying degrees of success in the tournament so far. Sri Lanka Women had a tough opener against India Women, while Australia Women bounced back from a shaky start against New Zealand.