Josh Little misses out as Ireland strengthen batting depth; Sri Lanka go with balanced five-batter, five-bowler combination

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Ireland captain Paul Stirling won the toss and elected to bowl first against Sri Lanka in their Group B clash at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Assessing the surface, Stirling described the pitch as “hard and firm,” though slightly drier than on their previous visit, prompting Ireland to bolster their batting by including an extra batter in the playing XI.

Stirling explained that Ireland’s strong all-round options in the middle order allowed them to take that approach, hoping the added batting depth would prove useful in the latter stages of the innings. As anticipated, there was no place for left-arm pacer Josh Little in the final XI.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, opted for a balanced lineup featuring five specialist batters and five bowlers. Captain Dasun Shanaka felt the conditions would make scoring challenging, suggesting that a total of anything above 170 would be a competitive score on the night.

The boundary dimensions at the venue measure 71 metres and 77 metres square, with the straight boundary extending to 84 metres, factors that could influence shot selection and scoring patterns.

Historically, Sri Lanka have dominated this T20I matchup, having beaten Ireland in all three previous encounters between the two sides.

Sri Lanka Playing XI:
Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka (capt), Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana

Ireland Playing XI:
Paul Stirling (capt), Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, Ben Calitz, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys