Ireland suffered a thumping nine-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka in their opening game of the Super 12s as Kusal Mendis starred once again in Hobart.
After Sri Lanka’s bowling attack restricted Ireland to 128-8, opener Mendis (68no off 43) crunched his second successive fifty, sharing half-century stands with Dhananjaya de Silva (31) and Charith Asalanka (31) as his side coasted home in 15 overs, Mendis with the match-winning six off Simi Singh.
Sri Lanka’s quick-fire chase was a tremendous boost for their net run-rate, while Ireland – who trounced West Indies on Friday to reach this stage – must now regroup ahead of their meeting with England at the MCG on Wednesday (5am UK time).
Sri Lanka’s next match is against hosts Australia in Perth on Tuesday (12pm UK time) and they will take confidence from Mendis’ form – he also hit 79 against Netherlands – and the fact their opponents were demolished by New Zealand in their first match on Saturday,
More to follow…