Skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt's record fifth Women's World Cup century and spinner Sophie Ecclestone's magical spell powered England to an 89-run victory over Sri Lanka, their third successive win taking them to the top of standings here on Saturday.
Sciver-Brunt led from the front with a majestic 117 off 117 balls (9x4, 2x6) to guide England to 253/9 before the world's No 1 bowler Ecclestone flipped the game on its head with 4/17 as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 164 in 45.4 overs.
With three wins in as many matches, England top the eight-team standings with six points, jumping ahead of defending champions Australia (five).
Dropped on three by Udeshika Prabodhani, the English skipper made full use of the reprieve to post her 10th ODI hundred -- and a record fifth in Women's World Cups -- before being dismissed off the penultimate delivery.
Set a stiff target, Sri Lanka's hopes revolved around skipper Chamari Athapaththu, who retired hurt on seven in the sixth over after suffering cramps and had to be stretchered off.
Opener Hasini Perera (35) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33) steadied the chase with a 58-run stand that looked threatening at 95/1 when Ecclestone triggered a collapse as the home side lost three wickets for eight runs in four overs.
Ecclestone extracted sharp turn and bounce to deliver a spellbinding 10-over stretch in which she dismissed Perera, Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari and then Athapaththu to single-handedly derail the chase.
Ecclestone first removed Perera who slogged to Alice Capsey at mid-on, and in the next over, she dismissed Samarawickrama as Lauren Bell took a tumbling catch.
The left-arm spinner then bowled Dilhari (4) with a ball that skidded through, reducing Sri Lanka to 103/4 at the halfway stage.
Athapaththu returned to resume her innings but soon became Ecclestone's fourth victim, bowled through the gate by a delivery that turned sharply to stun the home crowd.
Sciver-Brunt capped her all-round show with two wickets (2/25 in five overs), while Charlie Dean also did well (2/47 in nine overs) as Sri Lanka suffered their second loss in three matches.
Earlier, veteran left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera, who claimed four wickets against India in the tournament opener, continued her fine form with a superb haul of 3/33, including a double-wicket maiden that broke England's momentum in the middle overs.
Off-spinner Kavisha Dilhari provided solid support with 1/34 from eight overs, but Sciver-Brunt stood firm amid the slide after an early let-off.
Sciver-Brunt's magnificent innings ended on the penultimate delivery of the innings, but not before she lifted England's total with a late flourish as 49 runs came in the final five overs with her at the crease.
Put in, England endured a shaky start, losing two wickets inside the powerplay before Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight steadied the innings with a 60-run stand off 74 balls.
The partnership was threatening to take the game away when Inoka struck against the run of play with a crucial dismissal coming via a dramatic late review.
Knight's miscued reverse sweep popped up to first slip, and Sri Lanka took their final review with just one second left on the clock.
Replays confirmed a glove touch, ending her knock at 29 (47b, 2x4) and shifting the momentum Sri Lanka's way.
Inoka returned in the 35th over to produce a brilliant double-wicket maiden.
First, she bowled Emma Lamb (13) behind her legs with the ball dipping and spinning past the bat to hit the stumps, before deceiving Alice Capsey with flight and drift, as wicketkeeper Anushka Sanjeewani completed a sharp stumping.
Sophia Dunkley (18 off 30) had fallen to a superb return catch by Dilhari, as England lost three wickets for just 34 runs between overs 30 and 40.
The run rate dipped below four per over, and it took a reverse sweep from Charlie Dean to break a seven-over boundary drought.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
