Realistic hopes of a 3-0 Ireland sweep of their ICC World Championship series against Sri Lanka lasted approximately three minutes in Belfast as Sarah Forbes and Amy Hunter fell to the first two balls of the final one-day international.

After two unexpected defeats, the wounded Asia Cup champions finally found their feet at Stormont and Ireland did well to recover from 28-5 to 122 all out - Arlene Kelly top scoring with 35 - but it was nowhere near enough to defend.

Skipper Chamari Athapaththu led the Sri Lanka charge to victory with 48 from 49 balls, and while Ava Canning and Freya Sargent took a wicket each, the tourists eased across the line with a massive 26.5 overs to spare.

The eight-wicket win — as dominant as it was — only offered a small consolation in a series Ireland won 2-1 in the absence of injured skipper Laura Delany, and missing the vastly experienced Gaby Lewis for the final two games.

Nearly every player contributed, and while Orla Prendergast starred with an unbeaten century in the first game, and Leah Paul top scored with 81 in the second, none was as consistent as all-rounder Kelly, who was named Player of the Series.

“For me personally it’s just been sticking to strengths and not getting carried away by what the opposition are doing, but throughout the whole series it’s been a comprehensive team performance,” Kelly said. 

“We didn’t execute our plans in this third game but we’ll learn from that and move forward.”

Ireland collect 20 World Championship points for the two wins and will be full of confidence next month when England arrive for another three-match ODI series.