ICC T20 World Cup: Sri Lanka vs Ireland
In the Super 12 match of the T20 World Cup on Sunday in Hobart, Sri Lanka defeated Ireland by 9 wickets behind Kusal Mendis’ unbeaten 68 off 43 balls. Mendis and Dhananjaya Silva put up 63 runs for the first wicket when they walked out to start the innings.
The lone batsman from Sri Lanka to be removed was Silva, who was caught behind at number 31. As Sri Lanka finished the 129-run chase in 15 overs, Mendis and Charith Asalanka put up another partnership of at least 50 runs.
Ireland Batting First
Ireland chose to bat first, and the Lankan bowlers made a crafty effort to hold them to 128/8 in 20 overs. None of the Irish hitters, except for Harry Tector and Paul Stirling, were able to stave off the Lankan assault. Stirling earned 34 points off of 25 shots, while Tector got 45 points off of 42 balls. Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana each took two wickets in their allotted four overs.
Sri Lankan Bowlers
Binura Fernando (1/27), Lahiru Kumara (1/12), Chamika Karunaratne (1/29), and Dhananjaya de Silva (1/13) each claimed one wicket, while Maheesh Theekshana (2/19) and Wanindu Hasaranga (2/25) each claimed two.
This is a significant victory for Sri Lanka since it would increase their NRR, which is important given that they are in the death group.
Player of the Match
Kusal Mendis hits a maximum to close the show finely. For his outstanding effort, he received the match’s player of the match award.
After receiving the award he stated that “The bowlers did really well to limit them to a low score and I just played my game. I was just told to play the first 6 overs and then continue. The aim basically was to last 10 overs, but we were chasing a low score. We wanted to win within 17 overs, Charith (Asalanka) told me to not put myself under any pressure.”
Winning Captain comments
Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka in the post-match press conference quoted saying “Really happy with the way we’ve played the game. We set out to do some things and did well. We knew spin would play a major role, and we knew they’d like pace. So we kept a lot of spin for the back end. He has been consistent this year (on Kusal Mendis). Has played according to the situation most of the time, that’s the area he has improved.
He concluded by saying “That consistency which Sri Lanka needed for a long time, that gives us a luxury. Death bowling is a key area, the start with the bat is very important and that’s where we can take positives going ahead. Thankful to the supporters who came to back us today.”
What’s Next?
Sri Lanka will now face Australia on 25th October (Tuesday). On the other hand Ireland will face England on 26th October (Wednesday).
