The ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 will continue with Sri Lanka Women (SL W) taking on Pakistan Women (PAK W) in Match No. 25 of the tournament at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday, October 24. This contest holds immense importance for Sri Lanka, who are still mathematically in contention for a semi-final berth, while Pakistan has already been eliminated after a poor campaign.
It has been a nightmare of a tournament for Pakistan Women, as they have been put at the bottom of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025. Pakistan are the only team that has yet to get a win on the board. Now, they are up against Sri Lanka Women in the last game.This game will kick off at 3 PM IST on Friday at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Can Pakistan end the tournament with a win here. It will not be easy, as Sri Lanka are coming off a good last match, where they beat Bangladesh, and now will be looking to end the tournament on a high.
SL -W vs PAK -W : Previous Performances
Sri Lanka currently sits on four points with a net run rate of negative 1.035. To stay alive in the tournament, Chamari Athapaththu-led team must beat Pakistan convincingly and hope for a string of favourable results, including India losing both their remaining matches against New Zealand and Bangladesh, and the White Ferns falling to England.
Even then, qualification would depend on net run rate. The Lankans have had a mixed tournament, registering one win, three losses, and two no-results. Their latest outing saw them edge past Bangladesh by seven runs.Sri Lanka Women broke their winless streak and defeated Bangladesh Women by 7 runs in their last match. While batting first, the co-hosts were bowled out for just 202 runs.
Chamari Athapaththu and Hasini Parera played crucial knocks for the team in a tough situation. Later, they restricted the Bangladesh team to just 195 for 9 in the second innings. Chamari was the pick of the bowlers, taking four crucial wickets in the match. The co-hosts will aim to finish their tournament on a winning note. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s campaign has been disappointing as they are winless after six matches, with four defeats and two no-results, and a poor net run rate of negative 2.651.
Pakistan Women couldn’t win a single match in the ongoing Women’s World Cup so far, losing four matches out of the total 6 played, and two were washed out due to rain. In the last match, they were brutally thrashed by South Africa Women by 10 wickets in a rain-affected match at the same venue. While batting first, South Africa scored 312 for 9 in the first innings in 40 overs, but the revised target for Pakistan was 234 runs in 20 overs. Pakistan could only score 83/7 in their second innings.
SL -W vs PAK -W : Head to Head
In 33 ODIs between the two sides, Pakistan have won 11 and Sri Lanka 22.
| Matches Played | 33 |
| SL W Won | 22 |
| PAK W Won | 11 |
| No Result | 00 |
| First Fixture | April 11, 1998 (SL W Won) |
| Last Fixture | June 5, 2022 (SL W Won) |
SL -W vs PAK -W : Pitch and Weather Report
The R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo has been a batting-friendly surface this year. Batters will find value in their shots once they get settled at the pitch. Fast bowlers may experience some movement in the early stages of the innings, while spinners will find some grip and turn as the game progresses. The average first innings total in Women’s ODIs (this year) is 242 runs, signifying that teams can get help from the surface while batting first.
Batting first has generally proven to be the more rewarding option at the R. Premadasa Stadium. However, with rain in the forecast, teams might look to chase, especially if the DLS method comes into play. If weather interruptions stay away, spinners are expected to play a key role, as the surface tends to offer good grip and turn as the game progresses.
R. Premadasa Stadium has been a low-scoring venue. It has produced bowling-friendly wickets in this tournament. There are chances of rain on Friday, which can slow down the outfield. That is where bowling first can be an ideal decision here. The northeast monsoon shows no signs of easing in Colombo. Expect there to be swing and seam, owing to the rain around. There will also likely be significant turn, so long as the balls aren’t too wet. This is all presuming the rain will allow any cricket to be played at all.
The weather is expected to remain cloudy throughout the entire match, with mostly rain predicted in the match. The conditions are expected to be humid for this match, with the highest temperature expected to hit nearly 30°C during the day and go down to 25°C in the evening.
SL -W vs PAK -W : Big Picture : Can Sri Lanka record the big win they need to have a chance of qualifying
By the time this match rolls around, both teams could be out. Pakistan are out of contention already, following their big loss to South Africa on Tuesday. Sri Lanka are hanging by a thread after their last-over win against Bangladesh on Monday. If India beat New Zealand on Thursday, they will be out of Sri Lanka’s reach, as they India will have won three matches, which Sri Lanka cannot do.
In any case, this is both Sri Lanka and Pakistan’s opportunity to finish a campaign strongly. Pakistan are winless as yet in this competition, though rain denied them a near-certain victory over England. Sri Lanka batted poorly in the match against Bangladesh, but were bailed out by their captain in the final over. They will, if nothing else, want to put a stronger stamp on this tournament, which they have essentially co-hosted.
The problem areas for both teams overlap. Pakistan are over-reliant on Sidra Amin with the bat, and have tended to crumble around her. Sri Lanka are not quite as reliant on Chamari Athapaththu as they used to be, but they are yet to put in a dominant batting performance so far. Hasini Perera hit her first international fifty against Bangladesh, but the likes of Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari will have hoped to have had better tournaments.
SL -W vs PAK -W : In the spotlight: Chamari Athapaththu and Sidra Amin
Chamari Athapaththu will be 36 in February. Unless stars align in extremely fortuitous fashion, Sri Lanka will play their last match of this World Cup on Friday. There is always the chance that Athapaththu will play the next ODI World Cup as well, at age 39. There are certainly no signs that she is slowing down. But realistically, this could be her final ODI World Cup game. She is without a doubt the first woman in Sri Lanka’s cricketing pantheon. If this is her last major game in this format, she deserves a strong finish.
Just as an illustration of how far back Pakistan’s batting is from the world leaders, consider this. Alyssa Healy, the top runscorer for this tournament, has hit 294 runs in four innings.Pakistan’s top run-scorer Sidra Amin has hit 138 runs in five innings.
Sidra Amin and Pakistan have had consistently challenging conditions in Colombo to deal with, of course, but still, there is both a fragility and a stodginess to this top order, which prevents them from even competing in many matches. If they are to impose themselves on the next World Cup, Pakistan need to develop more batters like Amin.
SL -W vs PAK -W : Vital Stats that matters
- In 19 World Cup innings, Athapaththu averages 37.61 – just slightly better than her overall stats. Her World Cup bowling average of 30.00 is substantially better than her overall average of 40.12.
- Sidra Amin tops Pakistan’s run scorer’s charts this year with 656 ODI runs at 59.63. Their next-highest run-getter, Muneeba Ali, has hit 402 at 30.92.
SL -W vs PAK -W : Team News for Sri Lanka and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan might search for ways to strengthen their batting order. Could Eyman Fatima or Sadaf Shamas make it back into the XI as they search for better combinations
Pakistan Women (PAK W) Probable XI : Muneeba Ali, Omaima Sohail, Sidra Amin, Aliya Riaz, Natalia Pervaiz, Fatima Sana(c), Sidra Nawaz(w), Rameen Shamim, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka will likely keep their XI from the win over Bangladesh. Seamer Malki Madara was economical in that match, and will likely keep her spot.
Sri Lanka Women (SL W) Probable XI : Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu(c), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani(w), Udeshika Prabodhani, Sugandika Kumari, Malki Madara, Inoka Ranaweera
SL -W vs PAK -W : Probable Top Performers
Probable Best Batter: Hasini Perera
Sri Lanka Women’s batter Hasini Perera has featured in five games so far and has been the team’s best batter. With 182 runs under her belt, Perera has played some solid innings. In the previous game against Bangladesh, the 30-year-old smashed a sublime fifty to take her team over the line. She will be hoping to continue her batting rhythm in the next game as well.
Probable Best Bowler: Fatima Sana
Pakistan Women’s skipper Fatima Sana has bagged 10 wickets in six games and is the fifth-highest wicket-taker of the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 edition. The right-arm pacer has been instrumental with her bowling and will be hoping to back her skills once again for the clash against Sri Lanka.
SL -W vs PAK -W : Match Predictions
Pakistan Women have been outplayed by all other opposition in this tournament. Sri Lanka have been the better side of the two. As a result, we predict Sri Lanka Women to win this game.The PAK W vs SL W prediction slightly favors Sri Lanka Women because of home advantage and strong spin options. However, Pakistan Women can spring a surprise if their batters handle spin smartly.
Scenario 1
- Toss Winner: SL-W (opts to bat first)
- Power-Play Score: 40-45
- SL-W Total: 240-250
- Match Winner: Sri Lanka Women
Scenario 2
- Toss Winner: PAK-W (opts to bat first)
- Power-Play Score: 35-45
- PAK-W Total: 185-215
- Match Winner: Sri Lanka Women
Sri Lanka Women will be heading into this match on the back of a morale-boosting victory over Bangladesh in their last match.. They are likely to assert their dominance against Pakistan Women as well, who have failed to win a single match in the tournament so far and will win this match.
Also Read: Women’s ODI World Cup 2025: A Plot Twist No One Saw Coming