A charming ton by Kusal Perera along with an exolosive 95-run offensive by Seekkuge Prasanna foisted carnage on the forlorn Irish as Sri Lanka sealed the two match series 2-0 with a 135 run victory at Dublin.
Winning the toss, Ireland opted to field with hopes to claim early breakthroughs. Batting first, openers Kusal Perera and Danushka Gunathilaka gave a promising start, amassing 147 run stand for the opening wicket in a mere 27 overs. Andy McBrine ran out Gunathilaka who made 63 in 78 deliveries.
Then came Seekkuge Prasanna, with his blitzkrieg. Promoted to number 3, he flashed his willow at almost every ball faced. The first ball off McBrine was flat batted to the long off boundary for six. Five more maximums were followed before he reached his half ton in just 24 balls. He continued to torment the hapless Irish attack with his onslaught while on the other end, Kusal Perera reached a patient century in 105 deliveries which included 12 boundaries. Prasanna narrowly missed on a dazzling ton when Tim Murtagh rattled him for 95, yielded in 46 deliveries while Perera departed two deliveries later for 135. However by now, the duo had already inflicted damage, adding 161 runs for the 2nd wicket, taking Sri Lanka to 308 in the 42nd over.
Later, captain Angelo Mathews and Farveez Maharoof scored 24 and 29 respectively as Sri Lanka stockpiled 377/8 in their 50 overs. Tim Murtagh took 3 for 66 while Barry McCarthy claimed 2 for 52.
With a daunting task ahead, Ireland came into bat with skipper William Porterfiled and Paul Stirling looking to carve early inroads. However, the constant pressure of dot balls conceded Porterfield’s wicket when Mathews took an excellent catch at mid-on to remove him for 8 off Suranga Lakmal.
Two overs later, Stirling joined him at the dressing room for 22. Ed Joyce followed them as Maharoof dismissed him for 9 runs with a catch to Gunathilaka at point. John Anderson and Kevin O’Brien began to revive the innings adding 30 runs to the 4th wicket but faced with pressure of a rapidly creeping required rate ended the stand when a careless shot by O’Brien found Maharoof at mid-on.
Ireland continued to crumble as one by one followed while Andy McBrine grappled to brace one end with a valiant 79 in 64 Balls to delay a win for the visitors. Stuart Poynter (36) contributed to a 45 run partnership with McBrine while Boyd Rankin joined him for a 54 run partnership for the last wicket. Ireland were bowled out for 241 in 45 overs while Suranga Lakmal took 4 for 38.
