T20 World Cup 2022, Match 15: Ireland vs Sri Lanka - Talking points and Who Said What

Asia Cup 2022 winners Sri Lanka got off to winning start against an in-form Ireland side in the first match of their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign. The clash between the sides was expected to be a neck-to-neck encounter considering the level of form the Irish side maintained in the First Round qualifiers.

However, the Lankan Lions comfortably managed to get a victory in their first fixture of the regular campaign in the fight for the semi- finals spot. Batting first, Ireland could only get 128 runs on the board with Harry Tector scoring a 42-ball 45 and Paul Stirling hitting a 25-ball 34. But this was not enough to get them to a competitive total against the Asia Cup winners who looked hungry to win the fixture despite enduring couple of injuries early in the tournament. In response to the total set by the Irish side, the Lankan Lions chased down the total the total in just 15 overs.

Mendis’ fine consistency

Thanks to combined team effort from Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka that handed the side a major victory. Mendis continued his sublime form slamming an unbeaten 43-ball 68 that handed the Lankan side a major boost. Concluding the match in just 15 overs, the net run rate will see an uptick for Sri Lanka.

Ireland batters topple

The batting line-up seemed like they could pull off a victory despite being the underdogs in the match. However, the side just did not have any rhythm and failed to click on the pitch. Sri Lanka totally dictated the game without any response from the Irish batters. However, the side will quickly look to come back from this loss in their forthcoming fixture.

Winning skipper, Dasun Shanaka said-

Really happy with the way we've played the game, we set out to do some things and did well. We knew spin would play a major role, we knew they'd like pace, so we kept a lot of spin for the back-end. He has been consistent this year (on Kusal Mendis), has played according to the situation most of the times, that's the area he has improved. That consistency which Sri Lanka needed for a long time, that gives us a luxury. Death bowling is a key area, the start with the bat is very important and that's where we can take positives going ahead. Thankful to the supporters who came to back us today.

Losing skipper, Andrew Balbirnie said-

We knew that spin was a big threat, it wasn't turning big, but they bowled well and we're disappointed. Fell well short after batting first, never really in the game from there on. We knew that spin on a used wicket was a threat. so we backed ourselves to bat first. He is one of our top players (on Harry Tector), the in-form player in the middle-order, especially in the 50-over format. A lot of us wouldn't have played at that venue ( at the MCG), one of the biggest in the world, a great city and we'll look to enjoy the pressure. Had a great time over here and am thankful for all the support.

Player of the match Kusal Mendis said:

The bowlers did really well to limit them to a low score and I just played my game. I was just told to play the first 6 overs and then continue, the aim basically was to last 10 overs, but we were chasing a low score. We wanted to win within 17 overs, Charith (Asalanka) told me to not put myself under any pressure.