In Nassau County, Florida, Sri Lanka emerged victorious over Ireland in a T20 World Cup warm-up match. The Sri Lankan team, led by Dasun Shanaka, posted a formidable 163 runs with Angelo Mathews leading the way with an unbeaten 32. Ireland’s bowlers Josh Little and Barry McCarthy both took two wickets each in a valiant effort to keep the score down.
Ireland struggled to build partnerships throughout their innings, with Shanaka taking four wickets to finish with impressive figures of 4-23. Despite this setback, Ireland’s opening partnership of Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling put on 39 runs before falling to Sri Lankan bowlers Maheesh Theekshana and Dushmantha Chameera.
Despite their struggles, Ireland continued to fight back with Curtis Campher top-scoring with 26 before being dismissed by Theekshana. However, Sri Lanka’s victory was ultimately sealed as Ireland was bowled out for just 122 in 18.2 overs.
As they prepare for the tournament opener against India on Wednesday at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Long Island, both teams will look to take away valuable lessons from this final warm-up match.
