With a win apiece under their belt, Sri Lanka and Ireland will be up against each other in Abu Dhabi. Ireland’s Curtis Campher was on song as he scalped four wickets on four consecutive deliveries against the Netherlands as the Irish team bundled out their opponents for just 106 in 20 overs. Later, they did lose three wickets but went over the line quite comfortably by 7 wickets and in 15.1 overs.
On the other side, the Lankan bowlers thoroughly dominated the Namibia batting unit and bowled them out for 96 in less than 20 overs. But the Dasun Shanaka-led side had some early hiccups after they were reduced to 26/3. Nevertheless, Avishka Fernando and Bhanuka Rajapaksa made sure that they anchor the side to a win eventually. Sri Lanka clinched a victory by 7 wickets.
The one thing that the Sri Lankan team management would need to fix is the start with the bat. The Asian side did struggle to get a decent start despite chasing a low total especially with the likes of Kusal Perera and Dinesh Chandimal in the top order.
Match Details
SL vs IRE, 8th Match, Group A, ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021
Date: Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Time: 7:30 PM
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Pitch Report
The track in Abu Dhabi is likely to assist the batsmen throughout the game but spinners can still have some advantage in the middle overs. Another major factor can be the occurrence of dew as it is an evening fixture. So, if you win the toss, elect to field as the bowling unit of both the sides unleashed some brilliance in their last respective matches.
Ireland’s equipped bowling unit
Curtis Campher’s hat trick and four-fer against the Netherlands grabbed all the attention. But apart from Campher’s performance, Mark Adair and Joshua Little were also the pick of the bowlers after the way they kept the batters on the back foot. While Adair returned with figures of 3/9 in 4 overs, Little picked up one wicket for 14 runs in four overs. Paul Stirling bowled just one over but he was economical too as he only gave one run during the course.
So, with a bowling attack of this kind and considering the way Sri Lanka’s top-order batsmen fared in their last encounter, they might face some difficulties to gather runs.
Sri Lanka’s top order woes
A cricket fan would expect a team of Sri Lanka’s calibre to chase down a target of 97 runs by 10 wickets in a T20I. But their top order which has experienced lads like Kusal Perera and Dinesh Chandimal in the ranks completely failed to fire against Netherlands.
There came a stage when the Lankan lions were struggling at 26/3 but thanks to Fernando and Rajapaksa, they eventually won the game.
But the problems and issues haven’t been sorted yet. The kind of bowling attack that Ireland possess is lethal in slowing down the scoring rate at any given situation. So, Sri Lanka would need to get a decent and steady start to prevent themselves for getting under pressure.
Probable XI
Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Dinesh Chandimal, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara
Ireland: Paul Stirling, Kevin O Brien, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Gareth Delany, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Neil Rock (wk), Simi Singh, Mark Adair, Benjamin White, Joshua Little
CE Fantasy XI
Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Kevin O’Brien, Andrew Balbirnie, Paul Stirling, Wanindu Hasaranga (C), Simi Singh, Curtis Campher (VC), Dushmantha Chameera, Joshua Little, Maheesh Theekshana