Sri Lanka beat Ireland to stay in semi-final hunt

Women's T20 World Cup, Group 2, Bristol

Ireland 130-5 (20 overs): Lewis 59, Tector 28*; de Silva 1-12

Sri Lanka 134-1 (15.3 overs): Athapaththu 106*, Dulani 20; Prendergast 1-22

Sri Lanka won by nine wickets

Scorecard. Tables.

Chamari Athapaththu hit a superb unbeaten 106 as Sri Lanka cruised to a nine-wicket win against Ireland to keep their World Cup semi-final hopes alive.

Ireland were reduced to 18-3 in sun-drenched Bristol before skipper Gaby Lewis (59) and Leah Paul (20) put on a 66-run partnership to help their side to a total of 130-5.

Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu raced to her best World Cup score - and the highest so far in the tournament - from just 61 balls, as victory was secured on 134-1 with 4.3 overs to spare.

The Lions, who move up to four points, need to beat Scotland on Friday and hope results elsewhere go their way to secure a top-two spot in Group 2 and a place in the semi-finals.

Ireland have now lost all 21 of their World Cup games and the bottom side finish their campaign against West Indies on Saturday.