Sri Lanka opened their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a hard-fought 20-run victory over Ireland in Colombo. After being put in to bat, the co-hosts recovered from a mid-innings slump to post a competitive 163/6, thanks to vital half-centuries from Kusal Mendis and Kamindu Mendis.

Ireland’s chase looked promising at 104/2, but the introduction of Sri Lanka’s elite spin duo turned the game on its head. Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga dismantled the middle order, taking three wickets apiece to trigger a dramatic collapse. Ireland eventually finished on 143/9 as the required run rate climbed out of reach in the final overs. This win marks a perfect start for the Lions in front of their home crowd, securing two crucial points in Group B.

T20 World Cup 2026: Mendis duo rescues Sri Lanka after middle-order stutter against Ireland 

The Sri Lankan innings began with high energy but quickly faced resistance from a disciplined Irish bowling attack led by Mark Adair and George Dockrell. After losing Kamil Mishara early, Pathum Nissanka and Mendis attempted to stabilize, yet Dockrell’s double strike in the middle overs left the co-hosts reeling at 86/4 by the 14th over. Just as the run rate began to stagnate, Kamindu entered and completely shifted the momentum with a blistering 44 off just 19 balls, including four boundaries and two massive sixes.

His aggression allowed Mendis to anchor the other end, eventually finishing unbeaten on 56 off 43 deliveries to guide the team to a defendable total of 163. The final flourish was particularly chaotic, as Barry McCarthy bowled a record-tying 11-ball 19th over that featured multiple wides but also the key wickets of Kamindu and captain Dasun Shanaka. Despite the inconsistencies, Sri Lanka’s late-over surge provided their bowlers with the cushion needed to apply pressure on a slowing Premadasa surface.

Also WATCH: T20 World Cup 2026: Maheesh Theekshana castles Paul Stirling with deadly yorker; unleashes iconic ‘archer’ celebration during SL vs IRE clash

T20 World Cup 2206: Spin twins Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga trigger Ireland collapse

Ireland’s pursuit of 164 started with intent as Ross Adair provided a fiery start, and the partnership between Harry Tector (40) and Lorcan Tucker (21) placed them in a position of strength at 104/2. However, the game transformed in the 15th over when Hasaranga removed Tector, sparking a collapse that saw Ireland lose seven wickets for just 39 runs. Theekshana was equally lethal, removing Paul Stirling early before returning to clean up the lower middle order with his trademark mystery spin, finishing with elite figures of 3/23.

Hasaranga’s third wicket, dismissing Curtis Campher, was a personal milestone as it marked his 40th career wicket in T20 World Cups, moving him to second on the all-time list behind Shakib Al Hasan. Dushmantha Chameera and Matheesha Pathirana provided the pace support to ensure there was no late-order miracle for the visitors. By the time the final over arrived, the equation of 27 runs was too much for Dockrell and Adair to handle against Pathirana’s pinpoint yorkers.

Here’s how fans reacted: 

Sri Lanka beat Ireland by 20 runs. Ireland have only themselves to blame for this defeat; they were very poor in the field during the last four overs and gave away too many freebies, which cost them the game.#T20worldcup #SLvIRE

— Tariq Khan (@_TariqKhan) February 8, 2026

Elite performance by Sri Lanka’s spinners, including an injured Hasaranga.

Wellalage was pretty good too, and Theekshana was the pick of them all.

— Behram Qazi 🇵🇰 🇨🇦 (@DeafMango) February 8, 2026

This World Cup keeps delivering 😂 Hasaranga gets a wicket using one leg! #T20WorldCup

— Eems (@NaeemahBenjamin) February 8, 2026

Thank God in the last minute Sri Lanka ditched Dhananjaya de Silva plans and drafted in Kamindu Mendis to the World Cup squad.

— Rex Clementine (@RexClementine) February 8, 2026

First game, first WIN! 🦁🔥

Our #T20WorldCup journey starts with a bang as we defeat Ireland by 20 runs. Great shift from the boys to defend the total! 💪 #SriLankaCricket #SLvIRE pic.twitter.com/opMit2uThM

— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) February 8, 2026

Wanindu Hasaranga on one leg, picked up 3 wickets. What a champion cricketer he is..

Well done champ 👏👏#SLvIRE #T20WorldCup2026

— Nibraz Ramzan (@nibraz88cricket) February 8, 2026

Theekshana delivers. Special player for @OfficialSLC

— Dominic Machado (@DominicMachado1) February 8, 2026

– 3 wickets for Theekshana.
– 3 wickets for Hasaranga.

🚨 SRI LANKA DEFEATED IRELAND IN T20 WORLD CUP 🚨 pic.twitter.com/Iv2AG9mwXJ

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 8, 2026

Another small team that was good in phases but couldn’t get along!!
I am upset being Looking for upset!!
Ireland felt short against Srilanka!!
All of 6 matches of 2 days were good with 160-180 era of T20 Cricket rather than bullshit flat tracks!!#T20WorldCup2026 #SLvIRE

— baddhakist_thelazygenius (@BaddhakistT) February 8, 2026

Sri Lanka secures a 20-run victory over Ireland after a disciplined performance in the field 🌟#Cricket #SLvIRE #SriLankaCricket #T20WorldCup2026 pic.twitter.com/eYGvPZazzU

— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) February 8, 2026

Also WATCH: T20 World Cup 2026: Pavan Rathnayake throws away wicket with reckless shot during SL vs IRE clash

JAMMU: A young BJP legislator in J&K Saturday drew rare praise from across the political aisle with her speech in the Assembly, which she confined strictly to budgetary issues in the otherwise highly polarised House.Devyani Singh Rana, 31, is the daughter of former Nagrota MLA Devender Rana, who died in 2024 after winning the assembly election. In Oct 2025, BJP fielded Devyani from Nagrota in the bypoll, which she won. After her father’s death, Devyani had joined BJP and was appointed vice-president of the J&K BJP Yuva Morcha in Jan 2025.While governing National Conference legislators focused on J&K’s special status, BJP used the debate to highlight what it described as developmental gains after the abrogation of Article 370.Devyani, however, flagged electricity shortages, raised concerns over the union territory’s growing climate vulnerabilities, education sector and transportation as members listened to her raptly for around 12 minutes.In her speech, she deprecated Rs 271-cr reduction in disaster management, relief and rehabilitation department allocation, saying the sharp cut comes in a year that saw unprecedented and intense rainfall that devastated large parts of rural Jammu.Referring to tragedies in her constituency, she cited the death of three-year-old Mahi in a landslide and 28-year-old Sheer Khan, who drowned in a river. “These names represent the lives lost in the Jammu division,” she said, calling for stronger flood and landslide management measures.About flash floods that hit Jammu last year, Rana said, people lost their lives, bridges were damaged, roads became unsafe and houses were destroyed. “Our children were stranded at home and in colleges. Apple trucks were stuck on the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway (NH-44), and our traders suffered losses,” she said. She called for more allocation in disaster management as Jammu and Kashmir, she said, is “earthquake-prone, landslide-prone and fire-prone.”Devyani also flagged under-spending in the social sectors. “If around Ra 193 crore is spent less on education, then how will the children of poor families be uplifted,” she said.She also pointed to a reduction of Rs 782.8 crore in power capital expenditure, saying it comes at a time when voltage remains unstable and transformers frequently fail.While welcoming the initiative of free bus travel for persons with disabilities, the MLA questioned its effective implementation. “Are these buses adequately equipped with ramps and access mechanisms? And when there have been documented cases of buses failing to stop even for women, what deterrent exists to ensure compliance?” she asked.As she ended her speech, members from the NC, BJP and PDP thumped their tables and crossed over to her seat to congratulate her.Devyani holds a degree in economics from the University of California. The eldest of three siblings — two sisters and a brother — she is a businesswoman who took over the management of the family business after her father’s death. “I feel humbled and very blessed by the response to my speech. We all work for the public good,” Devyani told TOI.She said since the ongoing Assembly session is the budget session, she preferred to focus on the budget only to identify problem areas that could be addressed in coming years. “I chose to speak in English because the budget across all quarters is presented and discussed in English,” she said.

NEW DELHI: Country’s apex highway builders organisation has sought PM Narendra Modi’s intervention to review the squeezed construction timelines for big highway projects on PPP, their overall bankability and modification in dispute redressal through arbitration.The National Highways Builders Federation (NHBF), in a letter addressed to the PM, has referred to a recently floated tender for a 200-km greenfield project on Public Private Partnership (PPP) in which a two-year construction period has been set.“Considering the scale of such projects and the scope of activities involving land availability, utility shifting, major and minor structures, interchanges, safety provisions and stringent quality standards, the industry apprehends that such timelines may pose significant execution challenges, even best efforts,” NHBF said.It has cited how the Delhi-Vadodara Greenfield Expressway, despite focused attention and continuous efforts by stakeholders, is yet to be completed even after more than five years from commencement. It has urged govt to set realistic construction timelines to ensure quality and timely completion.It has also raised its concern over the recent amendments to dispute resolution provisions of PPP agreements, wherein arbitration for disputes above Rs 10 crore has been restricted. The changes have been made with reference to the finance ministry’s June 2024 circular.NHBF has said that while arbitration has been curtailed, “well-advised and financially strong participants may still bid, but disputes — if they arise — are likely to go to courts”. It said in such a scenario, even relatively small contractual issues may result in prolonged litigation, disruption to project execution and escalation of claim values, ultimately leading to higher fiscal exposure for govt, rather than faster or more efficient dispute resolution.“There is also a concern that such a framework may inadvertently encourage the emergence of entities oriented more towards litigation-driven outcomes than execution, and that even minor disputes could potentially lead to complete stalling of projects, which may not align with the original objectives of the PPP highway programme,” the highway builders body said.

Union Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said decisions related to India’s imports of Russian crude oil are taken by domestic buyers and are not dictated by the recently concluded India-US interim trade agreement framework, while stressing that diversification into energy supplies including LNG and oil is in India’s strategic interest.Speaking to ANI, Goyal addressed concerns over whether the bilateral trade framework has any bearing on India’s energy sourcing decisions.

“The buying of crude oil, LNG, or LPG from the US is in India’s strategic interest as we diversify sources. But the decisions are taken by the buyers themselves. The trade deal does not decide who will buy what and from where,” Goyal said.He said the agreement is aimed at facilitating smoother trade flows and improving market access advantages for Indian exporters.“The trade deal ensures that the pathway to trade is smooth and ensures preferential access. FTAs are all about preferential access to your competition. So today, when we’ve got an 18 per cent reciprocal tariff, we have a preference over other developing nations who are usually our competition. And that’s why the free trade deal becomes very attractive,” Goyal added.On whether the trade framework influences India’s approach towards Russian oil imports, the minister said, “I don’t deal with that,” adding that such matters fall under the purview of the Ministry of External Affairs.He said ministries coordinate on broader issues, but domain-specific matters are handled by respective departments.“We all work together. But if there’s a nuance or a detail about the trade deal, obviously, if you ask, let’s say the agriculture minister, or you ask the rural development minister, or you ask the telecom minister, or you ask the foreign minister, he wouldn’t know the nuances of the trade deal. Obviously, he will direct it to me, just as I will direct the issues related to geopolitics to the foreign minister,” he added.India and the United States recently announced a framework for an Interim Agreement on reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade, reaffirming commitment to a broader Bilateral Trade Agreement launched by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2025.Under the framework, India has agreed to eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of agricultural and food products, including dried distillers’ grains, red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruits, soybean oil, wine and spirits, along with additional products.The United States will impose an 18 per cent reciprocal tariff on goods originating in India, including textiles and apparel, leather and footwear, plastic and rubber products, organic chemicals, home décor items, artisanal goods and certain machinery. The US has also indicated that reciprocal tariffs may later be removed on select products including generic pharmaceuticals, gems and diamonds, and aircraft parts, subject to successful conclusion of the Interim Agreement.India has also indicated plans to purchase USD 500 billion worth of US energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology products and coking coal over the next five years, according to the agreement framework.

Tej Pratap Yadav (PTI image)

NEW DELHI: Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD) chief Tej Pratap Yadav on Sunday strongly denied rumours circulating on social media that a woman allegedly linked to him has given birth to his child, calling the claims false and defamatory. He accused political rivals and former associates of deliberately spreading misinformation and said that he would take legal action.Addressing a late-evening press conference, former Bihar minister said that the rumours had caused him severe mental distress and were part of a targeted campaign to malign him. He claimed the speculation resurfaced months after a controversy that led to his expulsion from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), headed by his father Lalu Prasad.“I am distraught at rumours on social media that a woman with whom I had been falsely linked several months ago, which resulted in my expulsion from the party, has given birth to my child,” Yadav said.Providing background to the controversy, Yadav recalled that a post had gone viral last year from his Facebook account, claiming he had been “in a relationship, for 12 years” with a woman. He reiterated that the post was not authored by him and alleged that his social media account had been compromised.He claimed the post was the result of “hacking” carried out by what he described as “the five Jaichands,” using a metaphor for traitors. Naming them publicly, Yadav said, “There has been some suspense about who the Jaichands I have been speaking about are. Here are the names — Mukesh Raushan, Sanjay Yadav, Shakti Singh Yadav, Rameez and Sunil Singh.”Notably, Sanjay Yadav is a sitting RJD Rajya Sabha MP, Sunil Singh is a member of the legislative council, Mukesh Raushan and Shakti Singh Yadav are former MLAs and Rameez is considered close to Tejashwi Yadav, Tej Pratap’s younger brother and the RJD’s national working president.Rejecting the latest claims outright, Yadav told reporters, “I reject this completely, a controversy was created, Akash Bhati will be revealing the truth. They are trying to defame me. I will go to court.”He said he became aware of the rumours after being told that union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi had “congratulated” him on the alleged birth of a child, which he said shocked him.Yadav also linked the renewed controversy to his recent political activities. “Recently, I hosted a well-attended feast on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. This has made my detractors wary of the prospects of my party. I will seek legal action against them. I will move the court. I have also sought an appointment with Home Minister Samrat Choudhary,” he said.Appealing for an end to the speculation, he added, “I beg my detractors to let me live in peace. I know the person with whom the woman is in a relationship and who, I believe, is the father of the child. They are causing mental anguish to me by dragging my name.”Tej Pratap Yadav was expelled from the RJD last year for what the party described as “serious breaches of moral and social values,” following a public fallout triggered by the viral Facebook post. The episode added to long-running controversies surrounding him, including his strained marriage with Aishwarya, the granddaughter of former Bihar chief minister Daroga Rai. Aishwarya had left their matrimonial home within months of the wedding, alleging mistreatment, and the divorce case is still pending in court.Since his expulsion, Yadav has floated his own political outfit, the Janshakti Janata Dal and has repeatedly ruled out any return to the RJD, saying he would “choose death over returning to that party.” He has maintained that his political journey is guided by “principles and self-respect,” not by the pursuit of power.

Gary Kirsten (File photo)

NEW DELHI: Gary Kirsten spent the Sunday afternoon watching Namibia batters practice range-hitting at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium. This is the venue where, in two days’ time, Gerhard Erasmus-led Namibia will open their T20 World Cup campaign against the Netherlands.The Feroz Shah Kotla ground is not new for Kirsten, who won the 2011 ODI World Cup with India. It was during that campaign at the same venue that India had locked horns with the Netherlands. Fifteen years later, he is back at the National capital with a new team, whom he joined as a consultant a couple of months ago, and the opponent will again be the Dutch.“He obviously knows the conditions well. He knows India well. He has so much knowledge about fields and pitches and the cities and everything,” Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus told TimesofIndia.com on the sidelines of his team’s practice session. Erasmus also pointed out how Kirsten’s presence has helped him as a skipper of the side, too. “I think what comes down for me as a leader and as a captain, with one foot in the management door and one foot in the players’ door, it’s always so important for me to have the connection between players and the management. As a captain, you have to facilitate that sometimes. When you have a senior member and a mentor like him, I think that resonates well with the players and brings the best out of the players,” the Namibia captain said. This is Namibia’s fourth straight T20 World Cup appearance, and buoyed by the presence of a World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten in their corner, they have hit the ground running in their first training session ahead of their opening match of the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Kirsten kept a close eye throughout Namibia’s first practice session in Delhi and had one-on-one conversations with several players of the squad. The Namibia team reached the ground at around 1:30 pm, and had a full-throttle training session. Namibia batters, including captain Gerhard Erasmus, Ruben Trumpelmann, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton focused primarily on range-hitting, polishing their reverse sweeps and scoops. Meanwhile, bowlers were trying to zero in on their death bowling as they tried to sharpen their yorkers and other variations.Gary Kirsten kept providing his valuable inputs to the players throughout the session. “He’s (Kirsten) been helping with everything. There’s not one department that he doesn’t help. He’s a workaholic. He’s helping us the whole time. You know, I mean, for myself as a young coach, learning from someone like him, just unbelievable. So he helps in all departments (whether it’s) fielding, batting, bowling, red soil, black soil, conditions, climates, you know, anything,” Namibian men’s team head coach Craig Williams said after his team’s practice session.

Namibia had beaten Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup 2022 and got the better of their neighbour, South Africa, last year in the one-off T20 match. But having been placed with India, Pakistan, the USA, and the Netherlands in Group A, Namibia are not thinking “too far ahead” at the moment. “As soon as you think too far ahead, (it) creates a lot of anxiety in the group. So we’re 100% just breaking it down to one-to-one game at a time, one ball at a time. And I suppose at the end of that day you can focus on the next day and then, yeah, we’ll see how the results go,” Williams said ahead of their match against the Netherlands, who put Pakistan under pressure in the opening match of the tournament on Saturday. “We’re 100% thinking about the game against Holland (Netherlands) as our first fixture. And then yeah, there’s 240 balls in the match. If we can win most of those balls, then there’s a good chance for us in the game,” Williams said.Namibia sealed their place at the tournament after a commanding run at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Africa Qualifier in Harare, finishing as unbeaten Group A toppers and backing it up with a dominant semi-final victory over Tanzania.This is Namibia’s fourth appearance at the men’s T20 World Cup. They had also taken part in the editions in 2021 (Super 12s), 2022 (group stage), and 2024 (group stage).

Times News NetworkMumbai: Stating that a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will help unify the country, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Sunday it should be framed by taking all sections of society into confidence.“Uttarakhand published a draft bill, received 3 lakh suggestions and, after detailed discussions, passed it. If a code is brought in such a way, then it is good. Create consensus amongst the people before bringing in the UCC,” Bhagwat said on the second day of an RSS outreach programme at Worli’s Nehru Centre, stressing the UCC should not lead to differences. “India preserves unity amid diversity, this principle must be given priority while framing such laws”.The remarks came a day after he said that despite theological differences, Islam and Christianity have flourished in India because of the “inherent Hindu spirit” embedded in the country’s ethos. “We should proclaim our Hindutva identity as one nation and one culture,” he had said on the opening day of the programme Saturday—the two-day Vyakhyanmala is the fourth in the series being held across the country to mark RSS’s centenary year.During an interaction with the audience Sunday, he said BJP’s “achche din” are because of RSS and not the other way round. “RSS was committed to the Ram temple movement and those who backed it benefited, he said, adding ‘achche din’ for RSS came through the hard work of volunteers and commitment to ideology,” he said.The RSS chief also called for global Hindu unity and the Bharat Ratna for Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar.Addressing the audience Sunday, Bhagwat reiterated a three-child policy for a healthy population rate for the country, saying various studies showed that ‘three children per couple’ should be the norm if the population decline is to be stopped. Referring to the country’s total fertility rate touching 2.1, he said it is “being balanced thanks to Bihar”.He further said the Hindu population is decreasing due to conversion and illegal immigration. He added that if an individual converts voluntarily there is no opposition, but “forced or inducement-based conversions are condemnable and the response to them would be ghar wapsi”. On illegal immigration, Bhagwat said while govt is implementing the “detect and deport” policy, people must be vigilant and report such cases to the authorities as well as desist from employing them.The RSS said global Hindu unity will eliminate the need for dependence on external forces to fight for their rights and issues in any part of the world.He also batted for the Bharat Ratna for Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar. “Even without receiving the Bharat Ratna honour, Veer Savarkar rules over the hearts of millions of Bharatiyas. However, conferring the Bharat Ratna on Veer Savarkar would enhance the prestige of this honour itself,” he added.Bhagwat said given the country’s large population, it’s important to give work to people, and working on farms must be respected.On ayurveda, he said there is now a ministry to promote it. “There should be an increase in practitioners and those using ayurveda. Allopathy has expanded because it provides quick relief. In ancient times, there was a vaidya for 10-12 villages and he provided fresh medicine from the nearby forest. If ayurveda is to flourish, then practitioners will have to go and work at the grassroots level,” he said.Speaking on the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, Bhagwat said India is the only country that has fulfilled all its promises. “It is the West that exploited nature and not India. Those smoke-emitting factories, the fertilisers that poison food—when will you ban them all?” he asked.From Salman to Karan Johar, Bollywood marks its presenceMany Bollywood celebrities attended the two-day event—from Salman Khan to Karan Johar, Shilpa Shetty, Vicky Kaushal, Akshay Kumar, Ananya Panday, Raveena Tandon, Ravi Dubey and Madhur Bhandarkar—leading RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to comment that had the organisation invited people 20 years ago, it would not have got the same response. Khan’s presence prompted Shiv Sena (UBT) Sanjay Raut to take a dig at RSS. “Was it a welcome only for Bollywood star Salman Khan or are all Muslims now welcome in the Sangh and its shakhas? RSS should clarify,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim witnesses the exchange of MoUs between India and Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. (DPR PMO/ANI Photo)

KUALA LUMPUR: India and Malaysia inked 11 MoUs in what was described by both Anwar Ibrahim and Narendra Modi as a “critical, strategic and vital exchange” for reinforcing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, at Seri Perdana, the official residential complex of the Malaysian PM.Key agreements include Exchange of Notes (EoN) on semiconductors, a sector where both countries are aggressively partnering to boost the value chain, including AI and R&D. At the press briefing after the signing of the deals, an agreement between India’s NPCI International Ltd (NIPL) and Malaysia’s PayNet was announced.

“It is not yet operational owing to some necessary technical alignments,” said P Kumaran, secretary, East. He added that there is also a broader project for multi-point connectivity called Project Nexus; which India, Malaysia, Singapore and a few other countries in the region are working on. This will give direct connectivity from one country to all the other countries partaking in the Nexus.On the question of a timeline for operationalising the settlement of trade in local currencies, Kumaran said, “It is a matter of priority for both sides and discussions are ongoing between the two regulatory bodies, RBI and Bank Negara. We are going to be working very actively on this in the coming few months.”On defence, the two PMs emphasised their intent to work closer and expressed satisfaction at the outcomes of the Malaysia-India Defence Cooperation Committee (MIDCOM) and its subcommittees, including the terms of reference on establishment of a Strategic Affairs Working Group (SAWG) and Su-30 Forum.Importantly, India’s three-decade experience with Su-30s and its proximity to Malaysia makes it the best country for its upgrade and maintenance. This also encompasses a broader defence industrial agenda beyond transactional procurement.Other agreements include areas like disaster management, the fight against corruption, healthcare, training in Ayurveda, anti-terrorism, UN Peacekeeping as well as the Framework Agreement on the Big Cats Alliance. The two sides have also agreed to collaborate on social security through a pact between Malaysia’s social security organisation and India’s Employees’ State Insurance Corporation.

Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga, center, celebrates with teammates (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka began their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup campaign on a confident note, overcoming Ireland by 20 runs in their opening fixture on Sunday, thanks to a composed unbeaten half-century from Kamindu Mendis and a clinical display from their spinners. Asked to bat first, the hosts were rocked early when Mark Adair removed Kamil Mishara for six in the fourth over. Despite the early setback, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis ensured Sri Lanka finished the powerplay on solid footing, taking the score to 50 with a blend of caution and timely aggression.

The partnership added 34 for the second wicket before George Dockrell broke through in the ninth over, dismissing Nissanka for 24 off 23 balls. Dockrell struck again soon after, sending Pavan Rathnayake back for 5, leaving Sri Lanka wobbling at 68 for three after 11 overs. Ireland tightened the screws through the middle phase, drying up the boundaries and forcing Sri Lanka to crawl to 95 for four by the 15th over. The momentum shifted dramatically thereafter. Kamindu Mendis and Kusal Mendis counter-attacked with a vital 67-run stand that revived the innings. Kamindu changed the complexion of the match with a blistering burst, smashing 44 off just 19 balls, before settling into a mature unbeaten 56 off 43 deliveries. His knock guided Sri Lanka to a competitive total of 163. In reply, Ireland lost skipper Paul Stirling early, trapped by Maheesh Theekshana in the fourth over. Ross Adair showed intent but was bowled by Wanindu Hasaranga for 34, while a promising 49-run stand between Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker briefly kept Ireland in the hunt. Sri Lanka’s spinners then took control. Hasaranga removed Tector for 40 and Dunith Wellalage accounted for Tucker, triggering a collapse. Theekshana struck twice late to seal the contest as Ireland were bowled out for 143. Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga claimed three wickets apiece, underlining Sri Lanka’s all-round dominance.

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