Only some lower-order resistance from Inoka Ranaweera helped save the hosts from complete embarrassment on their way to what seemed to be a meagre total after winning the toss and electing to bat.

However, Australia suffered a mini-collapse of 4-5 during the run chase to send a scare through the touring camp.

Earlier in the morning, six Sri Lankan batters failed to score as the Australian attack ran rampant in glorious overhead conditions for the first of four ODIs on the tour.

Speedster Megan Schutt started the destruction with two wickets in consecutive balls from her opening over of the morning, firstly via a sharp catch by Jess Jonassen at short cover to dismiss the dangerous Prasadani Weerakkody and then from an edge off the shoulder of Chamari Polgampola’s bat that landed safely in the hands of Alex Blackwell at gully.

Holly Ferling soon got in on the act once she settled into a rhythm to claim the big scalp of captain Chamari Atapattu, who was quickly joined back in the pavilion by Dilani Manodara and Nipuni Hansika with the hosts in shambles at 5-3 in the sixth over.

The introduction of leg-spinner Kristen Beams in the 10th over offered Sri Lanka no reprieve as her flight and turn not only kept the scoreboard stagnant, but also presented regular wicket-taking opportunities.

Imalka Mendis eventually lost her patience when she skied a Beams delivery to the awaiting Meg Lanning at cover to end a 28-ball stay that produced just a solitary run.

Beams picked up two more wickets when (4) and Eshani Lokusooriya (14) were both deceived by flight to leave the hosts at 8-38 and in serious danger of recording their lowest total in ODI history – the previous mark being 57 against Australia in 2005.

Ranaweera found enough support from her fellow tail-enders to finish unbeaten on 32, while the only concern from an Australian point of view would be the fact ‘Extras’ was the next top-scorer in the innings with 16 as the visitors occasionally lost their radar.

Ferling (3-4) and Schutt (2-5) were sensational with the new ball, while Osborne chipped in with 2-24 and Beams impressed in an eight-over spell that produced 3-16 featuring three maidens.

Following a brief break between innings, Western Australia duo Nicole Bolton and Elyse Villani opened up for what was seemingly going to be a straight-forward run chase.

But it soon became clear that the assignment would be tougher than first thought when Villani was trapped in front for a golden duck from Lokusooriya’s first delivery.

Captain Meg Lanning rode her luck after a pair of dropped chances behind the wicket to start finding the boundary with the dominant driving and horizontal bat shots that are a feature of her game.

A sharp catch by ‘keeper Weerakkody ended the skipper’s knock on 27 and sparked the Australian collapse.

Ellyse Perry was stumped looking to use her feet to the spin of Ranaweera, while Alex Blackwell fell to Inoshi Fernando for the eighth duck of the match.

Weerakkkody continued her fine day with the gloves to whip off the bails and find Bolton short of her crease for 19 to leave the tourists on somewhat shaky ground at 5-50.

Alyssa Healy (12no) and Jonassen helped steady things with a 25-run stand, until Weerakkody grabbed her fifth dismissal behind the stumps to send Jonassen on her way for 12 with victory in sight.

Osborne flicked an Ataputta delivery off her pads to find the boundary and seal victory with a whopping 34.2 overs to spare.

The two sides return to the same Dambulla venue on Tuesday for the first of three ICC ODI Championship matches, with Australia looking to cement their place at the top of the table.

Squads

Australia: Meg Lanning (captain), Alex Blackwell (vice-captain), Kristen Beams, Nicole Bolton, Rene Farrell, Holly Ferling, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney, Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani.

Sri Lanka: Chamari Atapattu (c), Prasadini Weerakkody (vc), Dilani Manodara, Nipuni Hansika, Chamari Polgampola, Eshani Lokusuriyage, Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandika Kumari, Achini Kulasooriya, Inoshi Fernando, Imalka Mendis, Ama Kanchana, Harshitha Madhavi.

Fixtures

First ODI: Rangiri Dambulla Stadium, 18 September at 2:20pm AEST
Second ODI*: Rangiri Dambulla Stadium, 20 September at 2:20pm AEST
Third ODI*: R. Premadasa Stadium, 23 September at 2:20pm AEST
Fourth ODI*: R. Premadasa Stadium, 25 September at 2:20pm AEST
T20: SSC Ground, 27 September at 6:30pm AEST

“We go out there to win every game we play in, and this series is no different. We’ve been in pretty good form in one-day cricket, so we’re looking forward to testing ourselves in different conditions against a good team,” the top-ranked ODI batter said of the series in Dambulla on September 18, 20 and 23.

World champion Australia leads the ICC Women’s Championship Table with 24 points from 15 matches after five of the seven rounds that will determine which four teams gain automatic qualification for the ICC Women’s World Cup in England and Wales from 26 June to 23 July.

The ICC Women’s World Twenty20 champion West Indies is second on the table with 20 points while England is third with 19 points. New Zealand (16), South Africa (15), India (13), Pakistan (eight) and Sri Lanka (five) follow in that order in the eight-team competition.

The bottom four sides will get a second chance to qualify through the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2017 in which they will be joined by six regional qualifiers. Four teams from the Qualifier will advance to the main tournament.

While the three ODI matches will count towards qualification for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, another ODI and a Twenty20 International to follow during the tour are not part of the championship but will count in the ICC team and individual rankings.

Though Australia starts favorite in its first bilateral ODI series against Sri Lanka, Lanning feels her team has to be wary of the conditions.

“It’s going to be a challenge in different conditions with a fair bit of spin and slowness in the wickets, so it’ll be a good test for us but we’re all looking forward to it. Sri Lanka’s batting and bowling attacks are different to a lot of teams we play against, probably a little bit slower and (with) a lot of spinners, so that’s going to be a good test. Their batters probably hit to different areas as well so it will be a different challenge but a good one for our group to take on,” Lanning said.

Australia has won its three previous ODI matches against Sri Lanka, all in ICC Women’s World Cups, by huge margins. Australia notched a 200-run victory in Christchurch in 2000, won by eight wickets in Pretoria in 2005, and by nine wickets in Mumbai in 2013.

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Atapattu understands that Australia is a top side but feels a lot will depend on how the visiting team adapts to the conditions.

“This series is very important and a historical event for us because we are playing the best team in the ICC rankings. This is also the first time we are playing Australia at home and believe that playing on home soil will be the biggest advantage for us,” Atapattu said.

The left-hand batter says she knows Australia has several big names in the squad but is pinning her hopes on the likes of left-arm pace bowler Udeshika Prabodhani, all-rounder Eshani Lokusuriyage and left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera to pull off something spectacular.

“They do have world-class individuals like Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry and Alex Blackwell, and they could pose a big challenge if they play to potential and get used to the conditions quickly. But we will try our best to finish the table with a few more wins and points after this series. We will try to change history by winning for the first time against Australia,” Atapattu said.

Lanning, who is on a career-best rating of 834 points, will be looking to consolidate her position at the top of the batters’ rankings while Perry (fourth) and Blackwell (sixth) will also be looking at the series as an opportunity to rise in the ICC ODI Women’s Player rankings.

For Sri Lanka, captain Atapattu is its top-ranked player at 18th position with Prasadani Weerakkody (30th) and Eshani Lokusooriya (32nd) the other leading batters in the side.

The squads:

Sri Lanka: Chamari Atapattu (captain), Sugandi Dasanayaka, Inoshi Fernando, Nipuni Hansika, Ama Kanchana, Achini Kulasooriya, Eshani Lokusooriya, Harshitha Madhavi, Dilani Manodara, Imalka Mendis, Chamari Polgampala, Udeshika Prabhodani, Inoka Ranaweera, Prasadani Weerakkody.

Australia: Meg Lanning (captain), Alex Blackwell, Kristen Beams, Nicole Bolton, Rene Farrell, Holly Ferling, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney, Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani.

Those words were expressed by Sri Lanka women’s captain Chamari Attapattu during the launch of the series at the JAIC Hilton yesterday. This will be a historic event as the two countries are playing a bilateral women’s series for the first time.

The Aussie lasses will participate in a practice match tomorrow at the R. Premadasa International Stadium before they leave for Dambulla to commence the four-match ODI series on September 18. They will play their final match in Colombo on September 28.

Aussie skipper Megan Lanning thanked Sri Lanka Cricket for inviting them and said that they are eagerly looking forward for a challenging tour.

“We know that we will have a tough time here with the conditions, but hopefully we will give a good performance. This is a good test for us to see how we can adjust to these conditions,” said the Aussie captain.

When asked what is the secret of their success in being ranked number one, Megan said that they have practiced hard with great commitment and have been rewarded with continuous success throughout.

Chamari went on to say that this is a very important series for them in preparation for the ICC 2017 Women’s World Cup.

“We are sorry that our captain Shashikala (Siriwardena) is out of this series due to a back injury, but we have a good team consisting of experience and talent. We have selected very talented players as new caps. Although they lack experience if they perform to their potential, we can still pose a big challenge to the Aussies,” said Chamari.

“The Australian players are physically stronger than us and they can go for big hits whenever needed, but we are confident that our spinners will try and keep them under the 200-run mark as much as possible,” she said.

SLC secretary Mohan de Silva said that they have invested in women’s cricket a lot in recent times and hope to extend the support to popularize the sport throughout the country.

“SLC has launched a program to develop women’s cricket, especially in schools and we are going to introduce ‘Big’ matches among girls’ schools in order to pick hidden talent,” said De Silva. “I hope our women’s national team will reap the maximum benefit from this tour and wish both teams good luck.”

Australian coach Mott Matthew expressed his gratitude to SLC and said they have trained a lot to face these tough conditions and hoped to have a great series.

“We are very impressed by the passion of Sri Lankan cricket fans and hope to enjoy a memorable time here with Sri Lankan hospitality,” Mott stated.

Squads:

Sri Lanka: Chamari Atapattu (captain), Prasadini Weerakkody (vice-captain), Dilani Manodara, Nipuni Hansika, Chamari Polgampola, Eshani Lokusooriya, Udeshika Prabodini, Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandika Kumari, Achini Kulasooriya, Inoshi Fernando, Imalka Mendis, Ama Kanchana, Harshitha Madhavi.

Australia: Meg Lanning (captain), Alex Blackwell (vice-captain), Kristen Beams, Nicole Bolton, Rene Farrell, Holly Ferling, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney, Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani.

Fixtures:

Sep 15: Warm-up match

at R Premadasa Stadium

Sep 18: 1st ODI at Dambulla

Sep 20: 2nd ODI at Dambulla

Sep 23: 3rd ODI at R Premadasa Stadium

Sep 25: 4th ODI at R Premadasa Stadium

Sep 27: One-off T20I at SSC

Sep 28: Departure