Sri Lanka star and former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) bowler Wanindu Hasaranga becomes the most successful bowler for his nation in the history of the T20 World Cup. The spinner achieved the milestone during their encounter with Ireland for the 6th match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
The experienced Sri Lankan spinner now has the most number of wickets in his pocket in the prestigious tournament. Only Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh is in front of him.
Sri Lanka’s easy win over Ireland
As the co-host of this year’s T20 World Cup, the island nation is among the favorites to qualify for the semi-finals. Though, to confirm a ticket for the round of four, they will have to cross a long road ahead. Through the match against Ireland, they have begun their campaign on a strong note.
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Ireland tried their level best to challenge Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Ireland actually bowled well on the home soil of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. The Irish cricketers are not habituated to the subcontinental conditions, but still, their bowlers did an appreciable job restricting Sri Lanka to 163. To claim the respective total, the island nation had to lose 6 of their batters.
Sri Lanka vs Ireland T20 World Cup 2026 match summary
While Kusal Mendis was the most successful batter for Sri Lanka by scoring an unbeaten 56, Kamindu Mendis supported him well at the end of the innings with a stormy 44-run knock off 19 balls. Until the attacking batting of Kamindu, Ireland bowlers were looking on top of their game. Barry McCarthy and George Dockrell claimed a brace each for Ireland.
Ireland’s batting was pretty ordinary. In a different way it can be said that the Sri Lankan bowlers did not allow them to bat freely. Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana utilized the surface very well. The spinner duo picked a total of 6 wickets together. With the match-winning 3-wicket spell, Hasaranga refreshed the record tally.
Against Sri Lanka’s 163, Ireland manageed to accumulate only 143 runs in exchange for all ten wickets. Sri Lanka on their first match of the T20 World Cup 2026 by 20 runs.
Record for Wanindu Hasaranga
Hasaranga took the scalps of opener Ross Adair, Ireland’s number three batter Harry Tector, and middle-order batter Curtis Campher. The Lankan spinner struck thrice during his four-over spell at an economy rate of 6.25. Wanindu Hasaranga has 40 wickets, the second most by an individual in the T20 World Cup. The 28-year-old surpassed Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga in the record tally as well.
Most wickets in the T20 WC history:
50- Shakib Al Hasan
40- Wanindu Hasaranga *
39- Shahid Afridi
38- Lasith Malinga/Rashid Khan
Sri Lanka will play their next match on February 12 against Oman before locking horns with Australia and Zimbabwe simultaneously.
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