Last Updated on July 24, 2026 by Maurya
Pakistan Women drew first blood in the ICC Women’s Championship series, and now Sri Lanka Women find themselves in must-win territory as the two sides return to the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota for the second ODI on Saturday, July 25 (5:30 AM start, 10:00 AM local time). The visitors cruised to a five-wicket win in the opener with 42 balls to spare, extending their remarkable ODI winning streak, and the pressure now sits squarely on Chamari Athapaththu’s home side to keep the three-match series alive.
This preview breaks down everything a bettor or fantasy player needs before the first ball: recent form, head-to-head history, pitch and weather conditions, key player battles, an indicative odds picture, and our final prediction with reasoned betting angles.
Match Details
- Match: Sri Lanka Women vs Pakistan Women, 2nd ODI (WODI No. 1555)
- Series: Pakistan Women tour of Sri Lanka 2026 (part of the ICC Women’s Championship 2025–29)
- Date & Time: Saturday, July 25 – 5:30 AM (10:00 AM Sri Lanka time)
- Venue: Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota
- Series Situation: Pakistan Women lead 1–0
- Streaming/TV: FanCode (India), PTV Sports, Geo Super, Tamasha and Tapmad (Pakistan), Dialog TV and ThePapare.com (Sri Lanka)
How the First ODI Unfolded
Understanding the opener is essential to pricing this match correctly, because it exposed a familiar Sri Lankan weakness and confirmed a Pakistani strength.
Sri Lanka won the toss, batted first, and started well. Vishmi Gunaratne, recalled to the squad for this series, put on a fifty-run opening stand with Athapaththu — their fifth half-century partnership as an ODI opening pair, a Sri Lankan record. At 109 for 2 in the 24th over, a total of 250-plus looked realistic. Then the innings drifted. Pakistan’s spinners, led by the excellent Nashra Sandhu (3 for 42), squeezed the middle overs, and Sri Lanka collapsed with 5 for 32 in the final seven overs to limp to 210 for 9.
The chase was one-way traffic. Gull Feroza smashed 78 from 77 balls — her fourth consecutive ODI half-century — dominating a 58-run opening stand and then a 90-run partnership with the ever-reliable Sidra Amin (57 off 94). Pakistan reached 211 for 5 in just 43 overs.
Three takeaways matter for the second ODI:
- Sri Lanka’s middle and lower order remains fragile. Good starts are being wasted, and against a disciplined spin attack that pattern rarely fixes itself in 48 hours.
- Pakistan’s top order is in career-best rhythm. Feroza’s four straight fifties and Amin’s consistency mean the visitors rarely lose early clusters of wickets.
- 210 is not enough at this venue against this Pakistan side. Sri Lanka likely need 250-plus batting first, or early breakthroughs bowling first.
Team Form Guide
Pakistan Women – Riding a Five-Match ODI Winning Streak
The win in Hambantota was Pakistan’s fifth consecutive ODI victory, a run that has lifted them to second on the ICC Women’s Championship table with four wins from six matches in this cycle. Fatima Sana has grown impressively into the captaincy; she was named in the Team of the Tournament at the recent T20 World Cup after taking 11 wickets, and her seam bowling gives Pakistan genuine new-ball threat alongside a deep spin unit featuring Sandhu, Saira Jabeen and Syeda Aroob Shah.
The batting, once Pakistan’s soft underbelly, now looks like their engine room. Feroza has transformed the powerplay approach, Amin anchors, and Muneeba Ali and Ayesha Zafar add experience in the middle order. Pakistan sit eighth in the ICC Women’s ODI rankings, but their current 50-over form is considerably better than that number suggests.
Sri Lanka Women – Good Foundations, Poor Finishes
Sri Lanka arrived in this series in reasonable shape, sitting third on the Championship table after a 2–1 away ODI series win over Bangladesh, and they hold the higher ODI ranking (sixth, with a rating of 89 versus Pakistan’s 73). Athapaththu remains the most destructive batter on either side, and the return of Gunaratne has stabilised the top order.
The concerns are further down. In the first ODI, nobody outside the top three converted a start, and the 42-run stand between Nilakshika Silva and Kavisha Dilhari was the only meaningful middle-order resistance. Sri Lanka also missed a semi-final spot at the recent T20 World Cup, and while ODI cricket is a different rhythm, the finishing problems have carried across formats. The bowling, built around Inoka Ranaweera’s left-arm spin and Dilhari’s all-round utility, is competitive but was given too few runs to defend on Thursday.
Head-to-Head Record: SL-W vs PAK-W in ODIs
The historical ledger in this fixture leans toward Pakistan across recent meetings. Of the last five completed or scheduled encounters between these sides: their most recent meeting in October 2025 ended in a no result, Sri Lanka won by 93 runs in June 2022, and Pakistan won the three matches before that — by 73 runs, by 8 wickets, and by 108 runs. Add Thursday’s five-wicket result and the pattern is clear: Pakistan have won the majority of recent ODIs between these teams, and their wins have generally been emphatic.
That said, Athapaththu’s 93-run demolition in 2022 is a reminder that when Sri Lanka’s captain fires big, the entire equation flips.
Pitch Report & Conditions – Hambantota
The Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium surface for the first ODI offered early value to batters before gripping and slowing as the innings wore on. Historical women’s ODI numbers at this ground point to modest first-innings scores — averages in the roughly 170–195 range — which fits the 210 we saw on Thursday.
Expect more of the same on Saturday: a fresh strip or a used one, the template holds. Batting is easiest in the first 20 overs, spin dominates the middle, and stroke-making against the older ball is hard work. Dew is not a major factor in a day match, so the toss advantage is less about chasing under lights and more about avoiding batting last on a wearing surface — although Pakistan chased with total comfort in game one, which suggests the deterioration is mild. July in Hambantota falls in the drier season for the south-east of the island, so a full match is the strong expectation, though brief coastal showers can never be entirely ruled out.
Conditions verdict: Anything from 220–240 batting first is competitive; below 210 is under par against this Pakistan top order.
Key Players to Watch
Gull Feroza (PAK-W): Four consecutive ODI fifties and an aggressive powerplay method that puts bowlers under immediate pressure. The single most in-form batter in the match and a natural top-run-scorer candidate.
Sidra Amin (PAK-W): The stabiliser. Her tempo through the middle overs is what converts Feroza’s starts into wins. Historically one of Pakistan’s best performers against Sri Lanka.
Nashra Sandhu (PAK-W): Her 3 for 42 broke the first ODI open. Left-arm spin on a gripping Hambantota deck is the matchup Sri Lanka’s middle order handles worst.
Chamari Athapaththu (SL-W): The x-factor. Sri Lanka’s win probability is effectively a function of how long their captain bats. A hundred from her changes everything.
Vishmi Gunaratne (SL-W): Back in the side and immediately productive at the top. If she bats deep into the middle overs, Sri Lanka’s collapse risk drops sharply.
Kavisha Dilhari (SL-W): Quietly vital with both bat and ball; her middle-overs off-spin is Sri Lanka’s best answer to Pakistan’s steady accumulators.
Odds & Market View (Indicative)
Official bookmaker prices for women’s bilateral ODIs are typically posted close to the start, and lines vary between operators, so always confirm live odds before staking. Based on form, the first-ODI result and the head-to-head trend, the market is likely to open with Pakistan Women as clear favourites — an indicative shape of roughly:
- Pakistan Women to win: strong favourites (implied probability around 60–65%)
- Sri Lanka Women to win: outsiders with home-advantage value (implied probability around 35–40%)
Sri Lanka’s higher ranking and home conditions will keep their price shorter than pure form suggests, which is exactly why the value calculation is interesting here.
Betting Tips & Angles
- Match winner – Pakistan Women. The form gap is real: five straight ODI wins, a settled top order, and a spin attack tailor-made for this surface. Until Sri Lanka show they can bat 50 overs without a late collapse, backing against Pakistan is fighting the evidence.
- Value alternative – Sri Lanka at longer prices, small stakes only. Home teams stung by an opening defeat often respond, and an Athapaththu special is always live. Treat this strictly as a value punt, not a confidence play.
- Top Pakistan batter – Gull Feroza. Four fifties in a row and first use of the best batting conditions. Sidra Amin is the sensible saver.
- Top Sri Lanka batter – Chamari Athapaththu, with Gunaratne as the alternative given her opening role and recent record against this attack.
- Total runs angle – lean under on the first-innings line if it is set above ~230, given the ground’s history of sub-200s and Thursday’s 210.
- Top Pakistan bowler – Nashra Sandhu. The pitch and the matchup both favour her repeating a multi-wicket haul.
Final Prediction: Who Will Win SL-W vs PAK-W 2nd ODI?
Prediction: Pakistan Women to win and seal the series 2–0.
Everything that decided the first ODI — Pakistan’s middle-overs spin squeeze, Sri Lanka’s finishing frailty, and the Feroza–Amin engine at the top — is structural rather than accidental, and two days is not long enough to fix structural problems. Sri Lanka’s path to victory requires a big Athapaththu innings and a disciplined bowling display and an uncharacteristically tidy finish with the bat; Pakistan simply need to repeat what they have done five ODIs running. In betting terms, back the repeatable process.
If Sri Lanka bat first and reach 250, tear this script up. Anything less, and Pakistan’s streak should stretch to six.
FAQs
What time does the SL-W vs PAK-W 2nd ODI start? Saturday, July 25, at 10:00 AM Sri Lanka time (4:30 AM GMT; 5:30 AM in time zones one hour ahead of GMT).
Where is the match being played? Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota — the venue for all six matches on Pakistan’s tour.
Who won the first ODI? Pakistan Women, by five wickets with 42 balls to spare, chasing 211. Gull Feroza was Player of the Match for her 78.
Who is the favourite for the 2nd ODI? Pakistan Women, on the back of five consecutive ODI wins and a comprehensive victory in the series opener.
Where can I watch the match? FanCode in India; PTV Sports, Geo Super, Tamasha and Tapmad in Pakistan; Dialog TV and ThePapare.com in Sri Lanka.
