Sri Lanka vs Ireland, 8th Match, First Round Group A at Abu Dhabi, Oct 20 2021, ICC Men's T20 World Cup

RESULT
8th Match, First Round Group A (N), Abu Dhabi, October 20, 2021, ICC Men's T20 World Cup
(18.3/20 ov, T:172) 101

Sri Lanka won by 70 runs

Player Of The Match
71 (47) & 1/12
wanindu-hasaranga
Cricinfo's MVP
161.6 ptsImpact List
wanindu-hasaranga
Match centre 
Scores: M Venkat Raghav | Comms: Andrew Miller
Scorecard summary
Sri Lanka 171/7(20 overs)
Ireland 101/10(18.3 overs)
Cricinfo’s Most Valuable Players of the Match
PLAYERTeam
TI
Runs
I. Runs
B. Impact
Bowl
I. Wkts
Bo. Impact
SL161.671(47)95.85120.041/121.5341.55
IRE97.841(3)10.674/235.197.18
SL81.7761(47)73.881.77--0
SL56.16--03/172.9756.16
IRE46.2141(39)46.3646.21--0

9.51pm And on that note, it's goodbye from us. Stay tuned for post-match reaction, and keep your ear cocked for the climax of this preliminary stage. It's getting hot at the top!

Andrew Balbirnie: "Started the week well with a good performance against the Dutch... if we'd lost that game we'd have been playing catch up, but a big game on Friday now, all to play for. Josh Little is a real find for us, had them in trouble, but they took it away from us in the middle though we clawed it back well. He has new ball skills to attack the stumps, hopefully he can continue that on Friday and into next week. Those are the games you want to play, the big knock-outs. It's a big deal for us as players, and for friends and families. Hopefully a lot of people tune in."

Dasun Shanaka "Of course it was a concern at 8 for 3, but they put on an awesome partnership. Hasaranga at 5 is a plan coming in at the World Cup and it worked well for us. Great luxury to have fast bowlers in the side, great credit goes to both of them and the coaches for the efforts in the nets. Have to look at top-order batting, but other areas are okay, though fielding has been poor as well."

Arjun V Ajith: "This win and massive run rate is probably going to hurt Srilanka. They are leading to Group 1 where they need to face Aus, Eng, WI, SA and most probably Bangladesh. " I reckon they'll just be glad to be involved after their struggles in recent times.

Nisala: "The world no.2 bowler saying he is a batsman who can ball. Wow! Wownidu!"

Wanindu Hasaranga is Player of the Match: "When I went in I was under pressure, but I rotated the first few balls, then I accelerated. I am a batting allrounder. Tired, with this heat." And in Sinhalese, he thanks the supporters as Sri Lanka book their place in the main draw.

CricDude: "SL is definitely a top 5 team in this tournament, mainly coz of its bowling attack. Batting is getting better. Surely the top order can't fail N number of times." To be fair, a number of teams in the main draw have good attacks. They need a total to defend to have success.

9.33pm And with that, Sri Lanka march into the main draw, with a very impressive victory. They had to recover from an abject 8 for 3, but did so in superb fashion through a brace of fifties from Hasaranga and Nissanka, before a dominant display with the ball. Despite some resistance from Balbirnie, Ireland's last six wickets tumbled for 16 in 5.5 overs...

Chamara Silva: "This win for SL means they are into the next stage and Netherlands is out of the tournament right?" It does indeed, because it's a straight knock-out between Ireland and Namibia now. Those two teams will finish with two and one wins each.

18.3
W
C Karunaratne to Little, OUT

turns inside out for a flick to leg, and misses! Back goes the middle stump, and that is a thumping win

Josh Little b Karunaratne 1 (3b 0x4 0x6 7m) SR: 33.33
18.2
1
C Karunaratne to Simi Singh, 1 run

a skip to the pitch and a languid drive into the covers

18.1
C Karunaratne to Simi Singh, no run

leg-sided, flicks the pad to spare the wide

end of over 182 runs • 1 wicket
IRE: 100/9CRR: 5.55 RRR: 36.00 • Need 72 from 12b
Josh Little1 (2b)
Simi Singh4 (7b)
Dushmantha Chameera 3-0-16-1
Wanindu Hasaranga 4-0-12-1

Sazid: "Meanwhile, Rassie's giving a heavy knock against PAK..." Gosh... never knew he had it in him...

17.6
Chameera to Little, no run

another whoosh of a drive outside off, no contact

Abizer Zohair: "Sri Lanka's Bowling was always good, now the battings turning up too. Exciting times!!" Quite a different vibe from their sorry series in England this summer. Then again, their bowling was fine on that trip. The batting, less so

17.5
1
Chameera to Simi Singh, 1 run

short, clawed to the on-side, hitting down on the pull

17.4
Chameera to Simi Singh, no run

another massive biff, inside-edged into the pads, winding up on the full length, to little avail

17.3
Chameera to Simi Singh, no run

swished to the leg side, inside-edge of the bat on a futile hack

17.2
1
Chameera to Little, 1 run

full length, another attempted yorker, leg-sided this time

17.1
W
Chameera to Young, OUT

yorker, clean through him! Outstanding bowling, wicket-to-wicket, sharp pace, full length, right in the blockhole and Young has no answer. The writing is on the wall now, and even the po-faced Lion on Sri Lanka's shirt is starting to look cheerful

Craig Young b Chameera 1 (6b 0x4 0x6 8m) SR: 16.66
end of over 172 runs
IRE: 98/8CRR: 5.76 RRR: 24.66 • Need 74 from 18b
Simi Singh3 (4b)
Craig Young1 (5b)
Wanindu Hasaranga 4-0-12-1
Lahiru Kumara 4-0-22-2
16.6
Hasaranga to Simi Singh, no run

crunched back through the line, a sharp one-handed intercept to see off another tidy over, another tidy spell

16.5
1
Hasaranga to Young, 1 run

slapped from a full length, out to the leg side

16.4
Hasaranga to Young, no run

slower through the air, gripping back into the right-hander, worked to point

16.3
Hasaranga to Young, no run

tossed up outside off, a flashy slog sweep, misses, off come the bails again ... the umpire's having a look. No edge involved, and the toe is grounded this time

16.2
Hasaranga to Young, no run

full length, can't connect on a hack to the leg side

16.1
1
Hasaranga to Simi Singh, 1 run

flicked off the toes to the leg side

end of over 164 runs • 2 wickets
IRE: 96/8CRR: 6.00 RRR: 19.00 • Need 76 from 24b
Simi Singh2 (2b)
Craig Young0 (1b)
Lahiru Kumara 4-0-22-2
Maheesh Theekshana 4-0-17-3

Abhi: "Looking forward for the Ireland vs Namibia knockout. If Namibia qualifies what a story that would be. Also, it would give a picture of how much progress Ireland has done in the last few years after becoming a full member of the ICC." Yes, plenty riding on that one. And on this showing, I fancy Namibia to have a real shot

15.6
1
Lahiru Kumara to Simi Singh, 1 run

low full toss, scuffed to deep point

Asanka: "Two 145 fast bowlers, world no.02 bowler ad also a promising yound mystery spinner. Suddenly this Sri Lankan team has build up a good bowling attack themselves." Indeed, indeed...

15.5
1lb
Lahiru Kumara to Young, 1 leg bye

full length, thumped on the pads, deflected to the leg side

Deb: "I had asked this question last evening but it was not published. Can any expert tell me that India being the official host of this T20 WC, does India have a say on the condition of the pitches in UAE (for example how much grass to be kept )." The ICC oversee pitch preparation for ICC events

15.4
W
Lahiru Kumara to Balbirnie, OUT

sliced drive, and a stunning reflex take at backward point! The final roadblock is gone, Balbirnie flung his hands through the full length, and Avishka reached high to his left, cupped in both hands

Andy Balbirnie c Fernando b Kumara 41 (39b 2x4 2x6 73m) SR: 105.12
15.3
1
Lahiru Kumara to Simi Singh, 1 run

nudged into the gap, singles won't cut it now. Nor, frankly, will boundaries...

15.2
1
Lahiru Kumara to Balbirnie, 1 run

back of a length, outside off, chopped down to third man

Best performances - batters
Spike Graph
Wagon Zone
PW Hasaranga
71 runs (47)
10 fours1 six
Productive shot
cut shot
19 runs
3 fours0 six
Control
79%
P Nissanka
61 runs (47)
6 fours1 six
Productive shot
cover drive
13 runs
1 four1 six
Control
74%
Best performances - bowlers
JB Little
O
4
M
0
R
23
W
4
ECO
5.75
FTYFGSGS
OFFLEG
RHB
1W
1W
1W
LEGOFF
LHB
1W
M Theekshana
O
4
M
0
R
17
W
3
ECO
4.25
FTYFGSGS
OFFLEG
RHB
2W
LEGOFF
LHB
1W
Match details
Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
TossIreland, elected to field first
Series
Season2021/22
Player Of The Match
Match numberT20I no. 1331
Match days20 October 2021 - night (20-over match)
Umpires
TV Umpire
Reserve Umpire
Match Referee
PointsSri Lanka 2, Ireland 0
Language
English
Win Probability
SL 100%
SLIRE
100%50%100%SL InningsIRE Innings

Over 19 • IRE 101/10

Josh Little b Karunaratne 1 (3b 0x4 0x6 7m) SR: 33.33
W
Sri Lanka won by 70 runs
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ICC Men's T20 World Cup
Group 1
TEAMMWLPTNRR
ENG54182.464
AUS54181.216
SA54180.739
SL5234-0.269
WI5142-1.641
BAN5050-2.383
Group 2
TEAMMWLPTNRR
PAK550101.583
NZ54181.162
IND53261.747
AFG52341.053
NAM5142-1.890
SCOT5050-3.543
First Round Group A
TEAMMWLPTNRR
SL33063.754
NAM3214-0.523
IRE3122-0.853
NED3030-2.460
First Round Group B
TEAMMWLPTNRR
SCOT33060.775
BAN32141.733
OMA3122-0.025
PNG3030-2.655