Ireland beaten by Sri Lanka in T20 opener

Harshitha Samarawickrama's unbeaten 86 helped Sri Lanka clinch a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Ireland in the Twenty20 series opener in Dublin.

Gaby Lewis top-scored for Ireland with 39 as the home side posted 145-6 from their 20 overs at Sydney Parade.

However, the tourists had little difficulty in chasing down the total as Samarawickrama and Vishmi Gunaratne put on 83 for the first wicket in under 10 overs.

Freya Sargent dismissed Gunaratne for 30 but while Kavisha Dilhari and Anushka Sanjeewani also departed, Sri Lanka reached their target with 20 balls to spare.

In Ireland's innings, Lewis and Orla Prendergast put on 59 for the second wicket as they reached 83-1 by the 11th over.

However, Prendergast (29) and Lewis departed with only 12 more added, and Ireland's scoring rate dwindled thereafter.

Skipper Laura Delany produced some late resistance before being run out for 25 by Kavisha Dilhari.

The sides will meet in a further T20 contest at the Dublin venue on Tuesday before a three-game one-day international series starts at Stormont on Friday. (Agencies)

Chief scores
Ireland Women: 145 for 6 in 20 overs  (Gaby Lewis 39, Orla Prendergast 29, Laura Delany 25, Rebecca Stokell 21*, Inoshi Priyadharshani 2-35, Udeshika Prabodhani 1-20, Sugandika Kumari 1-23)
Sri Lanka Women: 149 for 3 in 16.4 overs (Vishmi Gunaratne 30, Harshitha Samarawickrama 86*, Laura Delany 1-16, Arlene Kelly 1-26, Freya Sargent 1-27)