SLvIRE: Sri Lanka beat Ireland by 9 wickets in maiden T20 World Cup fixture

PERTH – Sri Lanka beat Ireland by 9 wickets to win their first game in the ICC T20 world cup Super 12 round.

Lankan opener Kusal Mendis slammed a half-ton to help Island nation clinch a 9-wicket win over underdog Ireland.

Mendis remained unbeaten with 68 off 43 balls, he stitched 63 runs along with Dhananjaya Silva while the latter was caught-behind on 31.

The 27-year-old Mendis then registered another 50-plus stand with Charith Asalanka as Sri Lanka completed the 129-run chase in 15 overs.

Earlier in the game, Lankan bowlers displayed A-game by restricting Ireland for 128/8 in shortest cricket format.

Meanwhile, no Irish batters including Barring Harry Tector or Paul Stirling faced Lankan attack. Tector scored 45 off 42 balls, while Stirling scored 34 off 25. Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga scalped two wickets each in their four-over quota.

Ireland earlier won the toss, and opted to bat first against Sri Lanka in their Super 12 clash at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Sunday.

At the start of the game, Lankan bowler Lahiru Kumara removed Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie on a mere 1, and Mahesh Theekshana then struck in his first over to remove Lorcan Tucker on 10 as Ireland lost openers in the powerplay.

Meanwhile, right-handed Irish batter Paul Stirling is batting alongside Harry Tector to gain momentum.

Both sides advanced to the Super 12 stage after qualifying through the preliminary round.

Squads

Sri Lanka: Kusal Mendis(w), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Ashen Bandara, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Binura Fernando, Lahiru Kumara

Ireland: Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie(c), Lorcan Tucker(w), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Simi Singh, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little