Sri Lanka defeated New Zealand by four wickets in the first T20I of their two-match series in Dambulla.
Captain Charith Asalanka scored an unbeaten 35 to help the hosts go past the 136-run target set by the Black Caps with an over to spare.
After losing opener Kusal Mendis for a duck in the second over, Kusal Perera hit a quick 23 runs off 15 balls, while Kamindu Mendis also added the same amount to the scoreboard as Sri Lanka eased to victory despite losing six wickets.
The tourists had struggled on a surface that aided Sri Lanka's spinners, with Dunith Wellalage (3-20), Wanindu Hasaranga (2-20) and Maheesh Theekshana (1-21) picking up six wickets between them.
All-rounder Zakary Foulkes, who went on to get his career-best T20I figures of 3-20 with the ball, and Michael Bracewell both scored 27 runs for a youthful New Zealand side, which ultimately lost wickets at regular intervals and could not mount the big score needed to truly test Sri Lanka.
The two sides will meet again in the second and T20I match on Sunday before the first of the three one-day internationals at the same venue on Wednesday.
Springer replaces injured Russell in Windies squad for final leg of England T20Is in Saint Lucia; returning Alzarri Joseph replaces Shamar Joseph
All-rounder Shamar Springer and pacer Alzarri Joseph have been drafted into the West Indies T20I squad ahead of the crucial St. Lucia leg of their “Rivalry” series against England, CWI announced on Tuesday.
Springer replaces Andre Russell who has been ruled out due to a left ankle sprain sustained during the opening T20I at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday.
The 26-year-old Bajan recently made his international debut during the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka in October.
The other change sees Alzarri Joseph, having completed his two-match suspension, rejoin the squad in Saint Lucia, replacing Shamar Joseph.
The West Indies currently trail the five-match series 0-2.
The squad for the final three games is as follows:
Remaining Schedule of West Indies vs England T20I Series:
3rd T20 International: 14 November 2024- Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia
4th T20 International: 16 November 2024- Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia
5th T20 International: 17 November 2024- Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia
Ireland ready to respond after 'honest' New Zealand chat, says Hansen
Mack Hansen has backed Ireland to bounce back from their 23-13 defeat to New Zealand that saw their 19-game home winning streak come to an end.
The loss also saw Ireland tumble from atop the world rankings to third as the All Blacks repeated their World Cup quarter-final success from last year, and also marked New Zealand's first win on Irish soil since 2016.
Ireland had previously won 25 of their 26 home games under Andy Farrell, which was their longest run on home soil, with their latest defeat before last Friday coming against France in 2021 (13-15).
While questions have been asked of a team that have been beaten in three of their past five matches, Hansen was adamant that the mood is not dampened ahead of Friday’s visit of Argentina.
"People are always very eager to jump on you when you’re down. It’s like in South Africa, nobody gave them a hope after the first Test," said Hansen.
“And what happens? They come back and win it. That’s the best thing about this group. The outside noise is outside noise and nobody knows what goes on in here, how hard we work and how resilient we are.
"People can chat away. The people who know us know, unfortunately, it was one of those weeks [against New Zealand], but we’re ready to bounce back.”
Ireland's display was littered with errors against the All Blacks, which included 21 handling mistakes, 30 missed tackles and 13 penalties conceded at the Aviva Stadium.
But eradicating those mistakes could prove difficult when they face Argentina on Friday, who come into the encounter on the back of a 50-18 thrashing of Italy.
Ireland, however, have not lost to the Pumas since the 2015 World Cup quarter-final and have beaten them on the three subsequent occasions they have played in Dublin.
And Hansen is confident his team-mates can respond against Felipe Contepomi's side and continue their impressive run against Argentina.
“There weren’t really hard chats, just honest chats,” added Hansen on Monday's debrief.
"We came to the conclusion that it wasn’t good enough and also that it just wasn’t us.
"So this week we’re looking to right a lot of wrongs and no better place to do it then back in the Aviva in front of a home crowd."
Pride get back on track with tense eight-run DLS method win over Volcanoes
The Barbados Pride rebounded from their defeat at the hands of the CCC in their last game with an eight-run DLS method win over the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain on Monday.
In the rain-reduced 46 overs-per-side affair, the Pride, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, posted 239-9 from their 46 overs.
In form batsmen Kevin Wickham and Leniko Boucher led the way for the Pride with 47 and 43, respectively while Kemar Smith (34*) and captain Kyle Mayers (33) also made valuable contributions.
Kenneth Dember was excellent in his 10 overs of off-spin, finishing with figured of 3-33.
Set a revised target of 245 from 46 overs, the Volcanoes fell agonizingly short of a win, being bowled out for 237 in the end.
Jeremy Solozano tried his best with an 88-ball 85 while West Indies batsman Kavem Hodge made 37.
Mayers led from the front with the ball with 3-50 from seven overs of medium pace while Dominic Drakes and Javed Leacock each took a pair of wickets.
Full Scores:
Barbados Pride 239-9 off 46 overs (Kevin Wickham 47, Leniko Boucher 43, Kemar Smith 34*, Kyle Mayers 33, Kenneth Dember 3-33)
Windward Islands Volcanoes 237 off 46 overs (Jeremy Solozano 85, Kavem Hodge 37, Kyle Mayers 3-50, Javed Leacock 2-37, Dominic Drakes 2-42).
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