Arlene Kelly seized three wickets to orchestrate a 15-run ODI triumph over Sri Lanka in Belfast, securing a 2-0 series triumph for Ireland against the newly-crowned Women’s Asia Cup champions. Ireland, having amassed a score of 255 for the loss of five wickets in their 50 overs at Stormont, appeared to be on the losing side when Harshitha Samarawickrama was fiercely batting for the visiting team. However, the game took a surprising turn when Samarawickrama got dismissed at 105, causing a dramatic Sri Lankan collapse from 210 for four wickets to a total score of 240.
Leah Paul, who played an impressive innings of 81, emerged as one of the three Irish batters to cross the fifty mark, with significant contributions from Amy Hunter and Rebecca Stokell, who scored 66 and a 53 not-out respectively. As Sri Lanka’s skipper, Chamari Athapaththu, was dismissed early; Samarawickrama seemed to take her team towards victory before her run out and a dual-wicket breakthrough by Arlene Kelly in the 44th over tilted the match in Ireland’s favour.
Kelly further underscored Ireland’s victory by bowling out Udeshika Prabodhani, setting the stage for a remarkable victory and a 2-0 series triumph before the final match in Belfast on Tuesday.