Ireland women’s national cricket team will take on Sri Lanka women in a five-match white-ball series beginning this month, under Laura Delany’s captaincy. Both sides will face one another for the first time ever competitively as Asia Cup champions take on newly crowned European Cup champs Ireland women.
Ireland secured a three-wicket victory against India in Belfast on Friday in their inaugural ODI, thanks to centuries from Kaveesha Dilhari and Harshitha Samarawickrama, both scoring centuries off just 125 balls respectively, providing hope of an unlikely comeback; however Amy Hunter and Leah Paul both made half centuries as Ireland powered home with ease to claim victory. In this article, we will discuss the main points of Sri Lanka national cricket team vs Ireland cricket team match scorecard.
Sri Lanka vs Ireland
Sri Lanka Cricket (Sinhala: and Tamil: ) is Sri Lanka’s national cricket team for men’s international cricket and a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International (ODI) status. They are managed by Sri Lanka Cricket which also oversees domestic cricket within Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka Cricket team, led by Chamari Athapaththu and featuring several experienced players who have won multiple titles, as well as promising young talent who may break into the team in future, boasts many key strengths that make it one of the world’s most dangerous sides.
An impressive record in One Day Internationals (ODIs) has enabled Australia’s team to earn several accolades and increase its standing within the game. They currently rank second in ICC ODI rankings and have defeated Ireland three out of seven times, making them tough competition.
Sri Lanka have defeated Australia on all four T20I occasions, winning all four. Most recently, they met again during the 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier where Sri Lanka prevailed by 14 runs to claim top position on ICC Women’s T20I rankings and become the first team ever to reach three consecutive finals of this competition.
Sri Lankan cricket team’s logo features a golden lion clutching a sword as a symbol of independence and sovereignty for their island nation. This image can be found prominently displayed on team jerseys as well as caps and helmets worn by players; its name can also be written beneath in bright blue and yellow letters below its presence.
Sri Lanka cricket squad currently comprises players contracted centrally through Board for Cricket Control of Sri Lanka and includes following players:
Sri Lanka 260/8 in 50 overs
Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and elected to bowl first, opting for conditions favourable to bowlers in which conditions allowed. This decision proved successful as Ireland lost both Dimuth Karunaratne and Harshitha Madavi within eight overs – however Vishmi Gunaratne’s unbeaten century helped Sri Lanka reach 260/8 in 50 overs, an amount too great for them to catch.
Orla Prendergast stole the show for Ireland as she took three wickets with the ball and scored an unbeaten 122 runs, helping Ireland overcome an difficult target in their inaugural One Day International against Sri Lanka. Ireland achieved their highest successful chase ever in an ODI; an ideal conclusion to an excellent day for their squad which saw Alice Tector gain her first cap and Christina Coulter Reilly make her T20I debut.
Sri Lanka’s opening batsmen struggled on the second morning, with both Dimuth Karunaratne (18) and Lahiru Thirimanne (23) departing for no runs at all, soon followed by Harshitha Madavi who was caught at short leg off Achini Kulasuriya by Leah Paul at short leg for no score.
Amy Hunter and Leah Paul then came together to bring Ireland closer to its target, until Leah Paul was dismissed for 66 by Sri Lankan spinner Smriti Zulfikar Ali’s stunning delivery. Karanarsingh then entered the middle and promptly hit Jane Maguire for six over midwicket to give Sri Lanka an advantage in this matchup.
Ireland women’s team, led by Laura Delany as captain, will look to build on their impressive showing at the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2024 where they reached the semi-finals.
Sri Lanka Cricket is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. This organization oversees both the national team, Premier Trophy tournament, List A Premier Limited Overs Tournament as well as Inter-Provincial Cricket Tournament with five teams representing different provinces of the country competing. Furthermore, Sri Lanka Cricket is a member of both International Cricket Council (ICC) and Asian Cricket Council.
Ireland 122 all out in 19 overs
Ireland had made an outstanding start to their innings when William Porterfield and James McCollum shared 32 runs for the opening wicket before both being dismissed by Sam Curran. Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling tried their best to anchor their innings before losing two quick wickets midway through and being eventually all out for 122.
Ireland and Papua New Guinea went head-to-head for a low scoring match which left both teams at the bottom of the table after one day, but Ireland came away victorious to claim their spot in the play-offs after both Papua New Guinea and Namibia suffered defeat.
As it transpired, Ireland needed all their firepower in order to outwit India’s power batting lineup. Though inconsistent at the top of their order, Ireland managed to exploit any mistakes their opponent may make by capitalising on any slipups.
Irish side scored an emphatic victory to move closer to qualifying for the World Cup tournament. The top five countries will earn direct qualification while any of the following four will go through an eliminator round before entering tournament play.
Ireland’s victory against Sri Lanka stands as one of their crowning achievements as a national cricket team. This victory ensures they will finish in the top five of the ICC Women’s Championship and could make their bid to reach 2024 edition World Cup even stronger than before – previously they only managed one victory out of three previous matches against this opponent which currently ranks seventh on ICC World Women’s T20 Rankings.
Sri Lanka win by 3 wickets
After an unexpected rain delay, Sri Lanka was put into bat in the opening ODI of this series and found themselves struggling to make an impressionful score, being all out for only 217 runs. But Dilshan and Tharanga took control, scoring centuries as they chased down their target in just 11 overs – an unprecedented achievement in an ODI! Sri Lanka went on to win by 8 wickets.
Sri Lanka made an improved start in their second ODI of the series. Their openers put together an impressive 111-run partnership before both were dismissed, before Thisara Perera came in and hit 50. His innings played an integral part in their eventual triumph over Australia, but eventually Paul Stirling bowled him.
Ireland began their innings strongly, led by Gaby Lewis (39 runs off 33 balls), Oria Prendergast (29 off 27), and captain Laura Delany (25 off 21). Unfortunately, however, they quickly faltered with four wickets falling within four overs; Leah Paul scored an unbeaten 81 runs off 85 deliveries to help Ireland reach 255-5 in total.
Sri Lanka managed to pull through their opening match despite suffering two opener deaths, eventually beating Zimbabwe by seven wickets. Their middle order then played an instrumental part, with Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka scoring over 50 respectively; Wanindu Hasaranga even contributed with some brilliant bat work as he hit 71 off 45 balls before picking up three wickets with the ball!
Kamindu Mendis received the Player of the Series award for his remarkable performance throughout the tour. He was particularly pleased with Pathum Nissanka’s performances and expressed confidence that they can beat any team on any given day. According to Kamindu Mendis, one of the greatest advantages of traveling together as teammates was bonding – something which will serve them in future endeavors and help develop his skills further. Furthermore, this tour offered Kamindu the opportunity to learn from senior players while further honing his own game.
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