Coming to the middle at the start of the 10th over, with Sri Lanka on 47 for two, the experienced wicket-keeper – who made a hundred in the second Test against England at Chester-le-Street – batted through the rest of the innings, finishing exactly 100 not out from 107 balls with just seven boundaries.
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The teams meet at Malahide again on Saturday for the second and final match of the series before Sri Lanka return to England for a five-match ODI series.
Sri Lanka have come out on top on both occasions they have played Ireland, at the 2007 World Cup and in a 2014 one-day worldwide in Ireland, while two other meetings were rained off.
John Anderson was given his first game against a Full Member nation, but the in-form Merrion batsman was Shanaka’s next victim for just seven and although Kevin O’Brien enjoyed no fewer than four lives in his 49-ball innings, he couldn’t take full advantage and was LBW for 64.
Ireland, meanwhile, put up a fearless fight despite losing key players like Niall O’Brien and Craig Young to injury.
Mathews had modestly failed to mention his own innings of 49 from 53 balls with four fours and two sixes.
Stirling played a couple of gorgeous wristy shots through the offside but was then bowled for 27, to become the first of five wickets on debut for Dasun Shanaka, who had earlier smashed 42 off only 19 balls at No 6 to give the Sri Lankan innings real impetus. Shanaka, on his ODI debut, crashed five fours and three sixes in an impressive display of hitting as the Ireland bowlers wilted under the onslaught.
John Anderson and Max Sorensen were called up as their replacements, while Durham seamer Barry McCarthy is in line to make his worldwide debut.
Beaten 2-0 by England in their recent Test series, Sri Lanka began the limited-overs leg of their tour on Thursday seeking to rebuild confidence. But that only let in Chandimal and he was quickly into his stride, although it was Mendis who found the boundary four times in succession to quickly show McCarthy the other side of global cricket.
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Boyd Rankin, in his first home match for Ireland since his return from England duty, also bowled well to finish as the most successful bowler with two for 45.
