T20 World Cup Group: Ireland captain Paul Stirling admitted his side fell short in key moments during their 20-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup Group B clash, saying missed chances in the field and execution going away in death overs with the ball caused their downfall.
"To be honest, probably halfway through, we thought maybe they got 15-20 too many. So look, I think at the very start of the day, we would have been happy chasing 160. That's sort of what the note said on the wicket out here, that 160 was chaseable. So yeah, I think we could find 20 runs pretty much anywhere in the match,” said Stirling in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Reflecting on their poor death overs bowling, which led to Sri Lanka making 163/6, especially after not giving a single boundary in the middle overs, Stirling said, “I think when the match was on the lines, we probably weren't as clinical as we wanted to be. A little bit sloppy in the field, which is disappointing, but plenty of areas that we need to come back with in a couple of days' time against Australia.
