Tucker hopes 'dry' Khettarama pitch brings Ireland into the game

Since the start of 2024, Sri Lanka have a collective strike rate of a mere 115 against spin in T20Is. Ireland, who will play Sri Lanka on Sunday evening, are aware of this. Ireland's spinners ain't too shabby either, and have restricted oppositions to a strike rate of 119 since 2024.

Here, perhaps, lies Ireland's greatest opportunity to spring an upset against the hosts on Sunday. If their spinners can dominate Sri Lanka's batters through the middle spell, they give themselves a shot. Ireland wicketkeeper-batter Lorcan Tucker is licking his lips. If a few edges or stumpings come his way, Ireland might be in the game.

"I think our spinners have grown a lot recently," Tucker said. "I think their performances have improved. They've become more experienced, so I think that's a part of our game. We've tried to grow in the last few years, and we've been able to do that. I think it's in as good a place as possible going into this week."

Ireland had watched Sri Lanka be derailed by the likes of Adil Rashid and Will Jacks too, as they went down 3-0 on turning tracks in the recent series.

"We did notice that the games against England, all the wickets took a bit of spin in general, and both teams used spin very effectively," Tucker said. "There were periods where it was very hard to score, so I think we'll be trying to maximise that for our spinners. At the same time, we know the Sri Lanka spinners are very experienced and very skilful, so it's going to be tough, but I think we're going to play confidently, play aggressively, and hopefully try and come out on top."

What might help Ireland is that the Khettarama surface famously takes extraordinary amounts of turn. Less than three weeks ago, Harry Brook called a Khettarama ODI pitch the worst he had ever played on. Surfaces that are bowler-friendly have historically been conducive to giant-killing, and Ireland's best chance might be a dry (read: spinning) track.

"It's really dry everywhere, so we suspect there will be a bit of spin, which will hopefully bring us into the game. So we're going to try and capitalise on that tomorrow."

Ireland also have some form going into their tournament opener. In a two-match series agaisnt UAE in Dubai, Tucker hit an important 38 off 25 in the first win, then effected three stumpings in the second, as Ireland stormed to a 2-0 win. They'd also beaten Italy 2-1, also in the UAE. His team, Tucker said, was ready, despite the rain in Colombo.

"We had two good weeks in Dubai before this leading in, so we feel like we've had enough cricket. We had five games against Italy and the UAE. We've had a nice week in Sri Lanka. We've noticed there's been a fair bit of rain around, but I think we've still been able to get a lot of work done."