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• Kusal and Avishka centuries take series opener for Sri Lanka

  Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando guided Sri Lanka to a 45-run victory via the DLS Method in the first match of their ODI series against New Zealand on Wednesday. 

  On a rain-soaked day, the hosts ended their eight-match losing streak at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium with a dominant display from start to finish. 

  After electing to bat, Sri Lanka were dealt an early blow when Pathum Nissanka (12) was caught by Nathan Smith from Jacob Duffy's delivery in the second over.

  However, Kusal would join Avishka at the crease and put the hosts in control, with the pair putting on a 206-run stand. 

  The duo's contribution formed the bulk of Sri Lanka's 324-5, with Sadeera Samarawickrama (five), Charith Asalanka (40) and Janith Liyanage (12 not out) concluding their innings.

  New Zealand started well in their run chase through Will Young (35) and Tim Robinson (35) before the latter was stumped by Mendisb Theekshana in the 13th over. 

  That kickstarted the tourists' collapse, with the dismissals of Young, Henry Nicholls (six), Mark Chapman (two) and Glenn Phillips (nine) leaving New Zealand 110-5 after 17 overs.

  Michael Bracewell's 34 from 32 deliveries steadied the ship somewhat but the damage had been done, with the tourists falling short of their target by 45 runs. 

  Data Debrief: It's coming home

  Sri Lanka have won five of their last six multi-game bilateral men’s ODI series (L1), including each of their last two, and they got off to a perfect start in Dambulla.

  The Lions' victory was their first in the format at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium since a seven-wicket win against Pakistan back in August 2014. 

  They were helped by Kusal's knock of 143 from 128 deliveries, which was his fourth ODI century but his first on home soil since 2020. 

• 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."

• Buttler 'enjoyed' setting England on way to second West Indies win

  Jos Buttler "enjoyed" being back out in the middle after powering England to a seven-wicket victory over West Indies in the second T20I.

  The captain scored 83 off 45 balls, hitting eight fours and six sixes in his knock, as he turned the game back in England's favour, having been taken for a golden duck in his first match back from injury last time out.

  West Indies struggled to gain momentum early on, with Rovman Powell's 43 settling them somewhat after a shaky start, but Saqib Mahmood (2-20), Liam Livingstone (2-16) and Dan Mousley (2-29) kept England in a good position, helping keep their target down as the hosts finished on 158-8.

  The chase got off to the worst possible start though, as Phil Salt was dismissed on the first ball, but Buttler stepped in to put up a 129-run stand with Will Jacks before they were both dismissed by Romario Shepherd in the 13th over.

  Livingstone (23) and Jacob Bethell (3) then helped get the tourists over the line, reaching 161 with 31 balls remaining to extend their series lead to 2-0.

  Buttler was pleased to find his rhythm this time around but is already looking ahead to how they can stay in control in the third match.

  "It is great to spend time in the middle. I was a bit scratchy for the first few balls, but I managed to come through that period and really enjoyed it. It was great to be back out there," Buttler told TNT Sports.

  "I have lots of experience, I have played for a while and batted in lots of different positions. I am just waiting to see what happens and playing what is in front of me.

  "We have got to start again [in the third T20I of the series]. We are playing a top team in the West Indies, who are excellent in T20 cricket. They will come back hard, and we have to be ready from ball one in the next game."

  West Indies stumbled through the powerplay, losing their first three wickets in the first four overs for just 35 runs.

  Powell was disappointed not to make a better start, pointing out that they gave themselves a mountain to climb.

  "Obviously the surface gave a bit to the fast bowlers, something that is a trend here in Barbados," he said. Teams generally win the toss and bowl because of what can happen in the first six [overs].

  "It's a case of us trying to come out of powerplay not three down. The statistics show that if you do that, the majority of the time you come out on the losing side. As a batting group, we have to adjust.

  "Somebody in the top four or five needs to bat the majority of the overs. In the past, we have done that but have struggled to do that in this series. The next three games provide an opportunity for batters to do that."