Sri Lanka the 2014 champions and 2 time runners up had to qualify for the Super 12 stage after going through the qualification stages. Sri Lanka began with a loss to Namibia before winning the next two games. Ireland too went through the same path as they began with a loss to Zimbabwe before beating Scotland and eventually knocking out power house West Indies.
Venue – Bellerive Oval, Hobart
Time – 930 AM IST
Likely Pitch Conditions –
Hobart has hosted most of the Group B qualifying matches and this is will be the first time Sri Lanka play in this venue. The teams chasing has found it difficult under lights to negate the seam and away movement. Expect the team winning the toss to bat first and any score over 150 plus should be a good one to defend.
Likely Sri Lanka XI –
P. Nissanka, K. Mendis, D. De Silva, C. Asalanka, B. Rajapaksa, D. Shanaka (Captain), W. Hasaranga, C. Karunaratne, B. Fernando, M. Theekshana, L . Kumara
Likely Ireland XI –
P. Stirling, A. Balbirnie, L. Tucker, H. Trector, C. Campher, G. Dockrell, G. Delaney, M. Adair, S. Singh, B. McCarthy, J. Little
Head to Head –
Games played -2
Games won by Sri Lanka – 2
Bellerive Oval T20I record –
Matches played – 9
Matches won by home team – 3
Matches won by other -6
Wins after batting 1st – 5
Wins after batting 2nd – 4
Wins after winning the toss – 4
Wins after losing the toss – 5
Highest score by a batter – 103* by Glenn Maxwell vs England
Best bowling figures – Alzarri Joseph – 4/16 vs Zimbabwe
Approaching milestones –
·Kusal Mendis is 61 runs away from scoring 1000 runs in T20I cricket
·Dhananjaya De Silva needs 6 runs more runs to score 500 runs in T20I cricket
·Wanindu Hasaranga needs 41 runs more to score 500 runs in T20I cricket
·George Dockrell is 7 away from 100 wickets in T20I cricket
·Simi Singh is 6 away from 50 wickets in T20I Cricket
·This is Johsua Little’s 50th T20I Match for Ireland