T20 World Cup: Sri Lanka spin a web, Ireland drop game

Sri Lanka’s wily legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga loves bowling at Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium. It is his theatre, his comfort zone; a venue where rhythm feels optional and deception compulsory. On Sunday night, hampered by a niggling hamstring injury and effectively bowling on one leg, he still made Ireland’s batters unravel.

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Hasaranga finished with 3/25, each strike arriving just as Ireland threatened to wrest control of the chase. Alongside him, Maheesh Theekshana was equally incisive, nabbing 3/23 with accuracy and subtle variations. Sri Lanka’s spin twins tightened the noose in the middle overs, squeezing momentum from Ireland's chase that looked on track.




Their combined craft proved decisive, helping the hosts edge past Ireland by 20 runs in the opening Group B match of the T20 World Cup.

There were moments when Ireland had the game under control. When they needed 51 from the last five overs with seven wickets in the shed. Nevertheless, they lacked the experience and firepower to nail the chase. They lost the last six wickets in just 29 deliveries.

Under carnival lights with a nearly full house in attendance, Sri Lanka staggered, stuttered, then sprinted to 163/6 batting first. It was an innings that was in equal parts anxiety, inertia and late-stage audacity. Ireland, though, will leave wondering how a night they controlled for 16 overs slipped so noisily through their fingers.

After a tidy Powerplay of 50/1, Sri Lanka froze. Spin, once their inheritance, became their undoing again, like a familiar tightening coil. Boundaries vanished, feet went nowhere, and intent drained away.

The hosts crawled to 104/4 after 16 overs, jet-lagged in their own backyard. Ireland’s spinners didn’t rip the pitch apart; they didn’t need to. George Dockrell was the standout, accurate, relentless, conceding just 17 runs while choking Sri Lanka’s fluency. Lorcan Tucker had promised heavy use of spin, and Ireland walked that talk superbly.

Yet, this was also a night of missed chances. At least four dropped catches cost Ireland dearly; Sri Lanka should have been boxed into 135. Instead, the Irish bowlers lost their plot at the death. 59 runs flew off the final four as Kamindu Mendis detonated the innings with 44 off 19.

Kusal Mendis, calm amid chaos, anchored the innings with a controlled, unbeaten 56. Together, the two Mendises wrestled momentum back, lifting Sri Lanka to a total that felt improbable at one stage.

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 163-6 (Kusal Mendis 56*, Kamindu Mendis 44; George Dockrell 2/17) beat Ireland 143 all out in 19.5 overs (Ross Adair 34, Harry Tector 40, Lorcan Tucker 21; Maheesh Theekshana 3/23, Wanindu Hasaranga 3/25).


Get the latest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 updates, including the full schedule, teams, live scores, points table, and key series stats such as top run-scorers and wicket-takers.