Ireland wins toss, bats against Sri Lanka at World T20

Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie won the toss and chose to bat first against Sri Lanka in cold, overcast conditions Sunday for their opening match of the Twenty20 World Cup Super 12 stage after both teams progressed through a dramatic qualifying round.

Ireland named an unchanged team to the one that crushed two-time defending champion the West Indies by nine wickets on Friday to clinch its spot in Group 1 of the second stage.

The Irish lost its opening first-round group match to Zimbabwe, but beat Scotland and then the West Indies, to progress in second place behind Zimbabwe.

For Sri Lanka, Ashen Bandara replaces batsman Pathum Nissanka, who has a groin injury and has been rested.

One-time champion Sri Lanka had a poor start to its qualifying round losing to Namibia, but responded with victories over the United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands to stay alive in the tournament.

The tournament has been running for a week, with eight teams vying for four places to qualify for the Super 12s.

Sri Lanka and Ireland are joined by Australia, New Zealand, England and Afghanistan in Group 1 for the second round. New Zealand thrashed defending champion Australia by 89 runs, and England eased past Afghanistan by five wickets on Saturday to commence the Super 12 stage.

Archivals India and Pakistan open Group 2 in a blockbuster night match at a sold out Melbourne Cricket Ground later on Sunday.

The other teams in Group 2 are Zimbabwe and the Netherlands, who both progressed through the qualifying phase, South Africa and Bangladesh.

The top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals, and the semifinal winners will meet in the final on November 13 at the MCG.

Lineups:

Ireland: Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Simi Singh, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little.

Sri Lanka: Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Ashen Bandara, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (captain), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Lahiru Kumara, Binura Fernando, Maheesh Theekshana.