Plimmer's maiden ODI hundred gives NZ series win

Georgia Plimmer's maiden ODI hundred gave New Zealand a 2-0 series win over Sri Lanka as they beat the visitors by 98 runs in the third ODI in Nelson.

Batting first, New Zealand posted a formidable 280 for 6, for which the foundation was set by a 108-run stand between Plimmer and Suzie Bates at the top of the order. Bates fell for 53 but Plimmer carried on. After Emma McLeod fell cheaply, Plimmer added 60 for the third wicket with Brooke Halliday and 51 for the fourth wicket Maddy Green.

Plimmer, whose best in 23 ODIs before Sunday was 41, brought up her century off 113 balls. She was eventually out for 112 in the 45th over.

While Plimmer was the anchor, Green's 32 off 24 and Isabella Gaze's 24 off 18 injected momentum into the innings, helping New Zealand ransack 89 in the last ten overs.

Jess Kerr then rocked Sri Lanka's chase by dismissing their top three - Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama - for single digits. Imesha Dulani fell soon after, leaving Sri Lanka 57 for 4 in the 20th over.

Kavisha Dilhari and Nilakshika Silva scored 45 each to give the innings a semblance of stability. Wicketkeeper-batter Anushka Sanjeewani also contributed 23. But Sri Lanka lost their last five wickets for 32 runs to be all out for 182 off the last ball of the innings. Left-arm spinner Fran Jonas was the wrecker-in-chief at the back end, finishing with 3 for 40.