Sri Lanka have beaten Ireland to qualify for the Super Six Stage of the ongoing qualifier tournament in Zimbabwe. The Island nation made the Irishmen look listless at the Queen Sports Club in Bulawayo, registering a comprehensive 133-run win to progress to the next stage. As a result, they also remain unbeaten.
Dimuth Karunaratne's century sets up a steep target for Ireland:
Ireland skipper Andy Balbirnie chose to chase after winning the toss, but Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne raced along for a 48-run stand in 8.3 overs. After Mark Adair got Karunaratne for a run-a-ball 103, the likes of Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, and Dhananjaya de Silva came up with brisk and vital contributions.
Josh Little had a forgettable match, leaking 78 in his 8 overs, but Adair, Barry McCarthy, and Gareth Delany shared nine wickets between them to bowl Sri Lanka out for 325 in 49.5 overs. The last five overs yielded Ireland four wickets, including two in the 48th over.
Wanindu Hasaranga picks up a fifer, but goes expensive:
The Irishmen failed to set a solid base for the tall run-chase as the top three fell cheaply. While the lower-order scored relatively cheaply, they couldn't quite cope up with the pressure of the increasing run-rate. They could play out only 31 overs and were bowled out for 192. While Hasaranga finished with figures of 10-0-79-5, the second spinner in Maheesh Theekshana took 6-0-29-2.
Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, and Dasun Shanaka snared one wicket each. The 1996 champions have remained undefeated, while Ireland have lost all three matches thus far and lost hope of qualifying for the main draw.
