Colombo, Oct. 14 -- Sri Lanka batter Nilakshi de Silva slammed the fastest fifty by a player from her team in Women's ODIs during the ICC Women's World Cup clash against New Zealand at Colombo on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka marched to 258/6 in their 50 overs against New Zealand, with Nilakshi and skipper Chamari Athapaththu contributing useful half-centuries. Silva's fifty came in 26 balls, as she broke her own record of reaching the milestone in 28 balls against India earlier this year.

SL won the toss and opted to bat first. Skipper Athapaththu had a fine start with the opener Vishmi Gunaratne (42 in 83 balls, with three fours), stitching a 101-run opening stand and bringing only the third century partnership for Lanka in women's WC. The duo a...