Sri Lanka defy brave Irish with Jayawardene help

Sri Lanka beat Ireland by 9 runs at Lord's to move a step closer to securing a place in the last four.

Former captain Mahela Jayawardena was the batting hero for Sri Lanka with 78 off 53 balls but it took a disciplined bowling performance to seal the victory against a gallant Irish side.

Ireland appeared capable of reaching their target of 145 until a collapse from 87-1 to 91-4 left them with too much to do in the final five overs.

Irish captain Will Porterfield's Twenty20 International record had been dreadful up until today (40 runs in six innings) but he set about putting that right with 31 in a first-wicket stand of 59 with Niall O'Brien.

O'Brien continued his injury-plagued tournament when he slipped as he set off for a single, resulting in a lengthy period of treatment on the same ankle he damaged against Bangladesh.

Ireland's opening pair brought up their 50-partnership, off 52 balls, as a shock remained a possibility on a rare off-day for the Sri Lankans in the tournament so far.

Muttiah Muralidaran claimed the breakthrough when Porterfield edged a cut to Kumar Sangakkara behind the stumps.

Ireland were left with 85 to get off the last 10 overs as the match entered the closing stages evenly poised.

Muralidaran (1-13), Ajantha Mendis (2-22) and Lasith Malinga (2-19) all proved difficult to accelerate against, however, and the required rate soon spiralled into double figures.

Andrew White then gave Ireland a lift with a hooked six to fine-leg and then a cover-driven four next delivery. Nuwan Kulasekera got his revenge later in the over when the right-hander flipped the fifth ball of the ball straight up in the air for Sangakkara to take a simple catch.

Kevin O'Brien (0) followed in the next over when he sent an attempted pull looping back over bowler Ajantha Mendis's head and Tillakaratne Dilshan ran from the covers to claim the catch. Mendis struck another - terminal - blow to Sri Lanka's chances when he deceived Niall O'Brien as he looked to work to leg, leaving the left-hander well short of his crease when Sangakkara whipped off the bails.

Ireland were left with 54 to get from the last five overs but they came up short despite a defiant effort from Trent Johnston (9), who clubbed Mendis's penultimate ball to midwicket for six.

Malinga provided the bowling fireworks by yorking Johnston and Andre Botha with successive deliveries before Alex Cusack just about managed to lay a bat on the hat-trick ball.

John Mooney (31 not out) put up same late resistance but he could not prevent Sri Lanka's fourth straight win in the tournament.

Jayawardena had earlier made his first significant contribution of the tournament to steer his side away from early danger.

Dilshan, who has been one of the batting stars of the tournament so far, was brought back to earth with a bump as he fell in Boyd Rankin's opening over without a run on the board. The right-hander attempted a pull but could only top-edge to backward square-leg, where wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien took a comfortable catch.

Johnston then struck another crucial blow when Sangakkara (3) got a thin edge to an outswinger and O'Brien took a fine catch standing up to the stumps. That dismissal formed part of a wicket maiden as Johnston opened up from the Pavilion End with a fine spell of 3-1-6-1. Unfortunately his final over leaked 12 runs - not helped by some poor boundary fielding from Rankin - but still he can be pleased with his work.

Sanath Jayasuriya (27) broke the shackles with two off-side boundaries in Rankin's third over as the Sri Lankans looked to take advantage of the closing Powerplay deliveries.

The batting side had limped to 28-2 after six overs with plenty of work to be done.

Jayawardena could have been run out by Porterfield on 13 but the backward point fielder missed the stumps with his throw - a key moment in the innings.

Sri Lanka's 50 came up in the ninth over with the experienced third-wicket pair now well set to accelerate over the remaining overs.

Twenty seven runs came off overs eight and nine before Jaywardena flicked the first six of the innings over deep backward square-leg off the third ball of the 11th over - bowled by Cusack.

Jayasuriya then missed a sweep at a Kyle McCallan off-break and the slow bowler had his appeal for leg before successfully upheld. The third-wicket pair had compiled a stand of 66 from 49 balls to lift the batting side out of their early slumber.

Jayawardena reached his half-century (33 balls) with a delicate late cut wide of third man and then repeated the feat next delivery, both off Kevin O'Brien, this time much finer.

Chamara Silva (4) swept to deep backward square-leg to give McCallan his second wicket, but the threat posed by the Irish spinners was an ominous sign for their batsmen with a vast array of slow bowlers in the Sri Lanka line-up.

Sri Lanka entered the last five overs on 101-4 and managed to advance their total by 43 runs despite the loss of another five wickets.

Cusack struck twice in his second over to ensure the target did not become too imposing - Jehan Mubarak (7) top-edged a pull, and was caught by wicketkeeper O'Brien on the off-side, before Jayawardena was bowled as he backed away to leg.

Kulasekera (1) was the victim of an outstanding diving catch by Mooney running in from long-off before Cusack (3-0-18-4) struck twice more in his final over to bowl Angelo Mathews (10), with the batsman looking to work the ball to the leg-side, and then beat the flailing bat of Muralitharan (first ball) to provide O'Brien with a stumping victim to go alongside his three catches.

Barring a dramatic late swing in run-rate, even defeat for Sri Lanka in their final Group F match against New Zealand should not prevent them from reaching the semi-finals.