The fifth match of the 2025 Women’s World Cup between Sri Lanka and Australia was cancelled without a ball being bowled due to continuous rain in Colombo.
Because the match couldn’t start, both teams were given one point each.
Although the latest possible time to call off the match was 8:08 PM local time, the umpires ended it a few minutes earlier due to the ongoing rain and poor field conditions.
What will both teams get?
Sri Lanka, one of the host nations, will be pleased to earn their first point in the tournament after losing their opening match against India in Guwahati on September 30. On the other hand, defending champions Australia now have three points from two games and remain at the top of the standings.
The two teams came into this match with different results. Sri Lanka had lost their first game to India by 59 runs (using the DLS method), while Australia had crushed New Zealand by 89 runs in their opening match, led by Alyssa Healy.
What happened in the match?
Australia were expected to win again, but the rain interruption worked in Sri Lanka’s favour and may have saved them from another defeat under Chamari Athapaththu’s captaincy.
Sri Lanka has never defeated Australia in white-ball cricket. Australia leads the head-to-head with 11 wins in ODIs and 8 in T20Is.
Both sides will stay in Colombo, as their next matches are also scheduled at the same ground. Australia will play Pakistan on October 8, while Sri Lanka will take on England on October 11.
Because the game against Australia was cancelled, Sri Lanka now faces a long 10-day break between matches, which could hurt their chances against England, a team that plays Bangladesh on October 7 and will have less time off in between.