Sri Lanka opened their ICC Women's Emerging Nations Trophy campaign in emphatic style on Thursday, beating Ireland by 10 wickets at the Karwan Sports Club Cricket Ground in Ajman.

Chasing only 106, openers Vishmi Gunaratne and Hasini Perera both finished unbeaten on 53 as Sri Lanka reached 110 without loss in 13 overs, sealing victory with seven overs to spare in the Group A fixture on the opening day of the new tournament.

Gunaratne and Perera share unbroken stand

The pair put on an unbroken 110 for the first wicket, making light work of a modest target after Sri Lanka's bowlers had restricted Ireland to 105 for nine from their 20 overs.

Gunaratne and Perera paced the chase calmly, never allowing the required rate to climb, and finished the job with 42 balls remaining. The scale of the win also gives Sri Lanka a healthy net run-rate advantage at the start of the group stage, which can prove decisive in a short tournament where places in the later rounds are decided on fine margins.

Both batters reached their half-centuries in the same innings, a rare feat for an opening pair in a chase, and neither offered Ireland a chance as the fielding side searched in vain for a breakthrough.

Ireland collapse after promising start

Ireland had made a bright start after being put in to bat, with Amy Hunter striking a brisk 21 before falling inside the first five overs, along with captain Gaby Lewis for four.

Louise Little rebuilt the innings with 28 and took Ireland to 84 for three in the 16th over, but the innings fell away sharply from there. Sathya Sandeepani took three for nine and Kaveesha Dilhari three for 20 as Ireland lost six wickets for 18 runs to finish on 105 for nine.

The collapse left Ireland well short of a competitive total on a ground where the ball came onto the bat, and Sri Lanka's openers took full advantage.

Opening day of the new tournament

The Emerging Nations Trophy is a new ICC event for teams outside the established leading nations, played in the United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka's dominant win puts them in early control of Group A.

The tournament gives emerging sides regular competitive Twenty20 internationals against evenly matched opposition, and Sri Lanka, who have played at the highest level of the women's game, will be expected to be among the contenders.

Elsewhere on the opening day, Scotland beat Papua New Guinea by seven wickets, Pakistan beat Bangladesh by eight wickets and the Netherlands edged Thailand in a final-over finish. Sri Lanka will look to build on their opening win when the group stage continues in Ajman.