Sri Lanka’s 11th-hour call to draft in Kamindu Mendis proved a masterstroke as the all-rounder produced a match-turning cameo to set up a 20-run win over Ireland in their T20 World Cup opener at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.

Kamindu’s blistering 44 off 19 balls with four fours and two sixes gave Sri Lanka the late thrust they badly needed to post 163.

The spin trio of Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga and Dunith Wellalage then ran through the Irish middle order, sharing seven wickets to seal a comfortable victory.

“I just wanted to score a few boundaries and put a partnership with Kusal Mendis,” said Kamindu.

“Kusal was outstanding today. He deserves a lot of credit. We wanted someone to bat through the innings.

“They played well during the run chase until the 15th over. We had to keep our calm and we knew they had to take risks and we bowled well towards the end.” Hasaranga claimed three wickets to take his World Cup tally to 40, second only to Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, who has 50.

There were anxious moments when the leg-spinner, who has a history with hamstring injuries, limped off after his second over.

Though he returned to complete his quota, he moved gingerly, raising questions over his fitness for the rest of the campaign.

Sri Lanka’s innings had been stuck in first gear until Kamindu strode in with the scoreboard reading 86 for four in the 14th over, boundaries having dried up against Ireland’s spinners.

The left-hander broke a 57-ball boundary drought with a cheeky reverse sweep and then went into overdrive, plundering 21 runs in the 17th over to wrestle back the momentum.

With Kusal Mendis playing the sheet anchor role in an unbeaten half-century, Sri Lanka found a competitive total from what had looked like a below-par platform.

Ireland were marshalled by left-arm spinner George Dockrell, who returned a miserly spell of 2-17.

A 49-run stand between Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector for the third wicket kept Ireland in the hunt.

From a promising 105 for two, Ireland lost their way and folded for 143 in 19.5 overs with Matheesha Pathirana cleaning up with two wickets in the final over.

“They got 15 runs too many,” said Ireland captain Paul Sterling.

“Bit sloppy in the field and we have plenty of work to do before the next game.

“We were confident with plenty of wickets in hand, but Sri Lanka held their nerve.

“Spin is a challenge for us. It wasn’t coming onto the bat as much as we expected. Spin, I believe, is going to play a big role in this tournament.”

Former champions Sri Lanka are co-hosting the 20-nation showpiece alongside defending champions India.

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A meeting between the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials is underway in Lahore on Sunday to discuss Pakistan’s boycotted T20 World Cup match with India on February 15.

The meeting is taking place at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.

Sources, however, say that the two sides will most likely announce the outcome of the meeting after receiving an endorsement from the Government of Pakistan.

ICC Deputy Chair Imran Khawaja landed in Lahore on Sunday to meet PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, while Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Aminul Islam also separately arrived in Lahore to partake in the meetings.

Confirming Khawaja’s arrival in a post on X, the PCB said the ICC official was greeted by Amir Mir, an adviser to the PCB chief, at the Lahore airport.

According to an earlier PCB press release, the BCB president will also meet with Naqvi.

Islam was welcomed at the airport by Pakistan Super League (PSL) CEO Salman Naseer — also an adviser to the PCB chairman — and other officials.

The high-level visits come a day after the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup commenced.

The 20-team tournament has been overshadowed by an acrimonious political build-up after Bangladesh, who refused to play in India citing security concerns, were replaced by Scotland.

Bangladesh remained firm on not taking part in the event after the International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected their request to move their matches to Sri Lanka.

After mulling its stance over the arising situation, Pakistan gave its cricket team the nod to participate in the World Cup, but said the Green Shirts would not play their match with arch-rivals India, scheduled to be held in Colombo.

In response to the development even before the official communication from the PCB, the ICC in a statement said the position of “selective participation is difficult to reconcile with the fundamental premise of a global sporting event where all qualified teams are expected to compete on equal terms per the event schedule”.

It expressed the hope that the PCB will consider the significant and long-term implications for cricket in its own country as this is likely to impact the global cricket ecosystem, which it is itself a member and beneficiary of.

“The ICC’s priority remains the successful delivery of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup which should also be the responsibility of all its members including the PCB. It expects the PCB to explore a mutually acceptable resolution, which protects the interests of all stakeholders,” the ICC stated.

A government source told Dawn at the time that Pakistan had refused to play against India to express solidarity with Bangladesh, who had been dropped from the tournament after refusing to play in India, which is one of the co-hosts of the ICC T20 World Cup.

According to the government source, the primary reason for boycotting the match with India was the ICC’s “biased decision” towards Bangladesh.

“The government of Pakistan wanted to show solidarity with Bangladesh. Therefore, as a protest, the national team was restricted from playing its match with India scheduled for February 15,” the source added.

Any clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan is one of the most lucrative in cricket, worth millions of dollars in broadcast, sponsorship and advertising revenue.

It was reported earlier this week that ICC had initiated back-channel efforts to resolve the issue and avoid significant financial losses.

Sri Lanka’s cricket board asked Pakistan to reconsider the decision to boycott the match with India.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) told the PCB that a boycott would result in a financial hit and also hurt the island’s tourism industry, which is still recovering from the 2022 economic meltdown.

Pakistan, who edged out the Netherlands in the tournament opener on Saturday, will lose two points if they forfeit the match and also suffer a significant blow to their net run rate.

Skipper Salman Agha has stated that if Pakistan were to face India in a semi-final or final, they would again consult the government.

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England clung on to beat Nepal by four runs in a last-ball thriller in Mumbai on Sunday and avoid one of the biggest upsets in the history of the T20 World Cup.

Chasing an imposing 185 to win, Nepal’s Lokesh Bam (39 not out) needed a six off the final delivery of the match bowled by Sam Curran but could only club the ball to deep cover for a single.

It was an agonising end to a valiant run chase by the cricketing minnows, who put England’s premier bowlers Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid to the sword.

Jacob Bethell (55) and Harry Brook (53) scored quick fifties for England but it was a late cameo by Will Jacks that took them to 184-7 in the Group C match, a total that proved just out of reach.

Jacks smashed three spectacular sixes off the final over from Karan KC to finish 39 not out off 18 balls .

Nepal fell just short at 180-6, despite being roared on by most of the spectators in a three-quarters full Wankhede stadium.

They got off to a flying start in their chase, Kushal Bhurtel crunching 29 off 17 balls before Jacks had him caught and bowled.

Captain Rohit Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee came together at 42-2 and brought up Nepal’s 100 in the 12th over.

Pace man Archer, who conceded 14 off his first over, was brought back and put the brakes on, conceding just six runs from his next two overs.

But the Nepali batsmen took to Rashid at the other end, launching the leg-spinner for 19 off his third over with Airee hitting two sixes and a four.

He finished with 0-42 from three overs.

The blitz left Nepal needing 62 off the last six overs with eight wickets in hand.

Left-arm seamer Curran returned and immediately got the vital breakthrough, ending the 82-run partnership for the third wicket when Airee holed out to Tom Banton for 44.

The wicket slowed Nepal’s charge and Paudel, on 39, then swept Liam Dawson to Phil Salt at deep midwicket to leave them 126-4 in the 16th over.

Archer came back for a final over and proved expensive again, being thrashed for three sixes and 22 runs by Lokesh to leave Nepal 24 off 12 balls for an unlikely win.

Dawson was the pick of England’s bowlers with 2-21 while Archer had 1-42 from his four as England just held on.

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