SL VS IRE - 8th Match, Group A, ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2021

SL have qualified! That is the big news. They had to deal with a lot of ignominy as they didn't qualify automatically but have done well to qualify quickly thanks to two convincing wins. Ireland on the other hand will be miffed thanks to their abysmal performance tonight. They still have a chance to comeback on Friday. Hasaranga was the difference as he was aggressive with the bat and the ball. The pacers of SL did splendidly well to push Ireland on the back foot. That is it from the day as we have had another action packed day! See you soon again.

Dasun Shanaka: We were bit worried. The top-order has been a little concerning for us. We had a plan before the WC to send Hasaranga up the order. It is a great luxury to have quick pacers. They are accurate as well. Credit to the coaches as well. We need to improve at the top-order and on our fielding as well.

Andrew Balbirnie: We started well. We did well with the Dutch. They did well as we started well with the ball and ended well. Josh has been a find for us. They played well in the middle but we clawed well in the end. We are looking forward to the game on Friday.

Wanindu Hasaranga | Player of the Match: When I went into bat, I tried to give myself sometime and then got an idea on how to go about things. Managed to accelerate after that. I like to think that I'm a batting all-rounder. (thanks SL supporters in Sinhalese)

21:35 Local Time, 17:35 GMT, 23:05 IST: SL would be a happy lot as they are through. Their bowling and fielding didn't work in tandem. But they have managed to win by 70 runs. Their spinners were fabulous in the middle overs. And their pacers had a lot of oomph. Pity they have had to play the qualifiers but SL look good despite a few loopholes. Hasaranga and Nissanka held it together in the batting department. And the seamers as well as spinners shared the ruins with the ball. Second win for SL and Ireland would be gutted as this would have affected their NRR. Ireland can't afford more slip ups and SL just need to be careful against being complacent as they have already qualified thanks to this win. Presentation next!

Karunaratne to Joshua Little, out Bowled!! SL win by 70 runs! That was a fuller ball at the sticks and Joshua Little wanted to paddle it fine. He was too much across the sticks and missed the paddle to be clean bowled. Big win for SL and they are almost through to the next round thanks to the performance tonight. Joshua Little b Karunaratne 1(3)

Karunaratne to Joshua Little, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!

Karunaratne to Simi Singh, 1 run, Simi Singh chips down the track and drives the ball to cover for a single

Karunaratne to Simi Singh, no run, fuller delivery, down leg, Simi Singh misses the clip as the ball goes off the pads to the keeper

Chamika Karunaratne [3.0-0-26-1] is back into the attack

Chameera to Joshua Little, no run, right up there outside off, Joshua Little looks to big and misses

Chameera to Simi Singh, 1 run, short ball, Simi Singh pulls that off the cue-end of the bat into the on-side for a single as the man at mid-wicket cuts it off

Chameera to Simi Singh, no run, looks to go big and gets an inside edge on to the pads

Chameera to Simi Singh, no run, fuller delivery outside off and Simi Singh slogs that but finds the fielder on the on-side

Chameera to Joshua Little, 1 run, another one in the yorker zone and has been dug out to long-on

Joshua Little, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Chameera to Young, out Bowled!! Right up there and Young misses the line to be clean bowled. The inch perfect yorker bowled at a good pace and the batter wasn't up to it. Ireland are going down like a lead balloon. Lanka have been clinical with the ball. Young b Chameera 1(6)

Chameera to Young, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!

Dushmantha Chameera [2.0-0-14-0] is back into the attack

Hasaranga to Simi Singh, no run, tossed up delivery and driven back to the bowler, who dives and stops it