Ireland led by skipper Laura Delany leveled the two-match T20I series with a seven-run victory in the 2nd T20I. As a result, the T20I series was shared between both these sides. The caravan now moves on to the three-match ODI series. Ireland’s regular skipper Laura Delany was ruled out of the ongoing three-match ODI series courtesy of a suspected ligament injury, she sustained in the 2nd T20I. Gaby Lewis took over the leadership duties in her absence.
Ireland’s stand-in skipper Gaby Lewis won the toss and opted to field first in the 1st ODI at the Civil Service Cricket Club, Stormont, Belfast. After being inserted to bat first, Sri Lanka got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of their skipper Chamari Athapathu for a golden duck on the 4th ball of the innings. Orla Prendergast provided the first breakthrough for Ireland.
Harshitha Samarawickrama joined Vishmi Gunaratne at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 34-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to lead some sort of recovery for her side. Alana Dalzell cleaned up Harshitha Samarawickrama to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Hasini Perera joined Vishmi Gunaratne at the crease and the duo stitched a massive 122-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side past the 150-run mark.
Arlene Kelly picked up the wicket of Vishmi Gunaratne to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Ireland. She departed after scoring a well-deserved century, her maiden at the international level. She also became the youngest Sri Lankan (18 years and 360 days) to score a century in Women’s ODIs. Kavisha Dilhari joined Hasini Perera at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 29-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side close to the 200-run mark.
Alice Tector picked up the wicket of Kavisha Dilhari to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side. After a solid platform provided by the duo of Vishmi Gunaratne and Hasini Perera, they failed to capitalise and kept losing wickets at crucial moments in the innings. As a result, they were restricted to 260/8 in their quota of 50 overs. The 31-run 8th wicket partnership between Sugandika Kumari and Sachini Nisansala took their side past the 250-run mark. Vishmi Gunaratne (101 off 98 balls), Hasini Perera (46 off 72 balls), Sachini Nisansala (17 off 18 balls), and Sugandika Kumari (18 off 13 balls) were the top performers with the ball for Sri Lanka.
Orla Prendergast (8-0-25-3), Alana Dalzell (8-1-37-2), Arlene Kelly (9-1-42-2), and Alice Tector (8-0-49-1) were the top performers with the ball for Ireland. Chasing a target of 261, the Ireland openers Sarah Forbes and skipper Gaby Lewis got their side off to a cautious start with a 20-run opening partnership. Achini Kulasuriya picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Gaby Lewis to provide the first breakthrough for Sri Lanka.
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Wicket-keeper batter Amy Hunter joined Sarah Forbes at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 49-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side past the 50-run mark. Sachini Nisansala picked up the wicket of Sarah Forbes to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Orla Prendergast joined wicket-keeper batter Amy Hunter at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 47-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side past the 100-run mark.
Kavisha Dilhari picked up the wicket of the wicket-keeper batter Amy Hunter to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Sri Lanka. Leah Paul soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 4th breakthrough for Sri Lanka. Rebecca Stokell joined Orla Prendergast at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 42-run partnership for the 5th wicket to take their side close to the 200-run mark. Udeshika Prabodhani cleaned up Rebecca Stokell to provide the 5th breakthrough for her side.
Arlene Kelly joined Orla Prendergast at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 31-run partnership for the 6th wicket to take their side past the 200-run mark. Kavisha Dilhari struck twice in the 44th over of the run chase to bring Sri Lanka firmly back into the contest. Jane Maguire joined Orla Prendergast at the crease and the duo took their side over the line with an unbeaten 50-run 8th wicket partnership.
The hosts Ireland, sealed the first ODI with three wickets in hand and four balls to spare. It was also their highest-ever run chase in a Women’s ODI, surpassing their previous best of 188/2 against the Netherlands at Hague in 2022.
Orla Prendergast (122 off 107 balls), wicket-keeper batter Amy Hunter (42 off 45 balls), Sarah Forbes (30 off 46 balls), and Rebecca Stokell (19 off 26 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Ireland. Kavisha Dilhari (10-1-54-4), Sachini Nisansala (10-0-44-1), Udeshika Prabodhani (10-0-47-1), and Achini Kulasuriya (6-1-24-1) were the top performers with the ball for Sri Lanka.
Orla Prendergast was awarded the Player of the Match for her exceptional all-round show. She returned with match figures of (8-0-25-3) with the ball and scored a sensational century (122 off 107 balls). It was also her maiden International ton. She also became the first player to score a century, pick up three wickets, and take two catches in Women’s ODIs.
