95/10 (16.4)
CR : 5.70
146/9 (20.0)
CR : 7.30
England won by 51 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Will Jacks
3/2221(14)
Most Wickets by England Spinners in an Innings in T20 WCs:
7 vs Sri Lanka, Pallekele, 2026, Today*
6 vs West Indies, Dubai (DICS), 2021
7 vs Sri Lanka, Pallekele, 2026, Today*
6 vs West Indies, Dubai (DICS), 2021
This is England's 12th consecutive win against Sri Lanka in the T20Is. Pakistan, with 15 successive T20I wins over Zimbabwe, have the most consecutive wins against a full-member team in the shortest format.
Player of the Match: Will Jacks
Will Jacks (Player of the Match): [on the performance] "We're buzzing with that. Obviously halfway stage we were pleased to get up to 145 but knew we had to bowl well and work hard. We had such a brilliant start in the powerplay. Jof got us to a good start and then we managed to continue taking wickets all the way throughout.
[on the conditions] We seem to do well here. We have come off a series against Sri Lanka on this ground so we do know well. With minimum 12 overs of spin here, that suits us. We spin the ball hard which definitely helps here. We seem to do well defending, squeezing the game and we know as a chasing side how hard it makes it.
[on his own game] I love getting that responsibility with the ball. It encourages me to get into the game and perform better. I like that responsibility and bowling in the powerplay is something I've done a lot of. It's not foreign to me and when we get on a surface like that I come into the game knowing what I need to do.
[on the talk in the change room] We haven't quite been at our best but importantly we've been winning those close games and I think it's quite relieving in a way to get through that stage where you're expected to win. Coming back here and against the better teams in a way, some of that pressure is off you. You can just go out there and play your way and that's something we've done today. Play with freedom. It's just about trusting our own game. We know we're good enough and we know if we play with that freedom and unity, more often than not we'll be in the right position."
[on the conditions] We seem to do well here. We have come off a series against Sri Lanka on this ground so we do know well. With minimum 12 overs of spin here, that suits us. We spin the ball hard which definitely helps here. We seem to do well defending, squeezing the game and we know as a chasing side how hard it makes it.
[on his own game] I love getting that responsibility with the ball. It encourages me to get into the game and perform better. I like that responsibility and bowling in the powerplay is something I've done a lot of. It's not foreign to me and when we get on a surface like that I come into the game knowing what I need to do.
[on the talk in the change room] We haven't quite been at our best but importantly we've been winning those close games and I think it's quite relieving in a way to get through that stage where you're expected to win. Coming back here and against the better teams in a way, some of that pressure is off you. You can just go out there and play your way and that's something we've done today. Play with freedom. It's just about trusting our own game. We know we're good enough and we know if we play with that freedom and unity, more often than not we'll be in the right position."
Most Player of the Match Awards in a Single Edition of the T20 WC:
4 - Shane Watson (Australia) in 2012
3 - Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe) in 2022
3* - Will Jacks (England) in 2026*
4 - Shane Watson (Australia) in 2012
3 - Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe) in 2022
3* - Will Jacks (England) in 2026*
Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka Captain): "(How does he reflect on this performance and loss?) See, it is very disappointing. At the same time, we have some positives with the ball. I think we kept them to a score which is 20 runs less than the par score. I expected my player to bat well.
(Whether it was bad batting, or good bowling from England, or tough pitch?) A combination of all the things. The pitch played well. Certainly, it was a bit slow in the first innings with spin. I think it settled down a bit under the lights. We played badly. Our batting was bad. We bowled well. They bowled well. We played some rash shots in critical intervals.
(On Sri Lanka's bowling attack, using only 5 bowlers today) Absolutely! In this World Cup, we tried with 5 bowlers, including all-rounders. It is a nice attack to have so that I can restrict most of the sides to lower scores.
(Chat in the first drinks break after the team lost 5 wickets inside the powerplay) The discussion was to take it deep. We have played a lot of cricket on these sorts of wickets. It was about taking it deep, taking positive and right options, which we didn't take. Eventually, it is one bad game which is not affordable in the World Cup. Now, we have to bounce back in the remaining two games.
(About his batters coming back in the next game) As I mentioned, it is one bad game. The batters, the top order have done well in the recent past. I am very sure that they do well in the coming games."
(Whether it was bad batting, or good bowling from England, or tough pitch?) A combination of all the things. The pitch played well. Certainly, it was a bit slow in the first innings with spin. I think it settled down a bit under the lights. We played badly. Our batting was bad. We bowled well. They bowled well. We played some rash shots in critical intervals.
(On Sri Lanka's bowling attack, using only 5 bowlers today) Absolutely! In this World Cup, we tried with 5 bowlers, including all-rounders. It is a nice attack to have so that I can restrict most of the sides to lower scores.
(Chat in the first drinks break after the team lost 5 wickets inside the powerplay) The discussion was to take it deep. We have played a lot of cricket on these sorts of wickets. It was about taking it deep, taking positive and right options, which we didn't take. Eventually, it is one bad game which is not affordable in the World Cup. Now, we have to bounce back in the remaining two games.
(About his batters coming back in the next game) As I mentioned, it is one bad game. The batters, the top order have done well in the recent past. I am very sure that they do well in the coming games."
Harry Brook (England Captain): "[on the win] Yeah beautiful birthday present. I thought we played exceptionally there. To get over the line and bowl them out for less than 100 was an awesome effort.
[on the scores] I didn't think there were any demons in the pitch. The spinners on both sides used the pace really well and that's what brought a lot of wickets. Caught & bowled and lack of pace was creating chances so we had a good chat about that before going out and we adapted to the surface really well.
[on the batting] It was just slow. It was hard to time and Salty played an exceptional innings there. To get 60 with everybody tumbling around as well. Not the fluent Phil Salt that everybody knows but he's managed to get us to a very good score. Couple of partnerships at the end as well. Hell of a performance.
[on Buttler's form] Not concerned at all. He's a powerhouse of world cricket, has been for many years. Arguably the best white ball player to play the game and just lacking a little bit of confidence at the minute but I'd rather him start the competition like this and finish with a flourish. Looking forward and really excited to see how he goes in the next couple of games.
[on Jacks getting the new ball] The spin worked from them guys and we've played a lot of cricket here in the last few weeks. We knew that he was going to play a big part today. Jacksy was pretty annoyed with the way he got out. He said to me, he always bowls better when he's angry and thankfully he got us off to a cracking start.
[on change of pace] We had a chat with the spinners as well and we were like we don't really need to vary our line. It's more about paces and as we saw we got rewards for that as well with a few caught and bowleds and a couple of catches on the boundary. It was perfect adaption to the surface."
[on the scores] I didn't think there were any demons in the pitch. The spinners on both sides used the pace really well and that's what brought a lot of wickets. Caught & bowled and lack of pace was creating chances so we had a good chat about that before going out and we adapted to the surface really well.
[on the batting] It was just slow. It was hard to time and Salty played an exceptional innings there. To get 60 with everybody tumbling around as well. Not the fluent Phil Salt that everybody knows but he's managed to get us to a very good score. Couple of partnerships at the end as well. Hell of a performance.
[on Buttler's form] Not concerned at all. He's a powerhouse of world cricket, has been for many years. Arguably the best white ball player to play the game and just lacking a little bit of confidence at the minute but I'd rather him start the competition like this and finish with a flourish. Looking forward and really excited to see how he goes in the next couple of games.
[on Jacks getting the new ball] The spin worked from them guys and we've played a lot of cricket here in the last few weeks. We knew that he was going to play a big part today. Jacksy was pretty annoyed with the way he got out. He said to me, he always bowls better when he's angry and thankfully he got us off to a cracking start.
[on change of pace] We had a chat with the spinners as well and we were like we don't really need to vary our line. It's more about paces and as we saw we got rewards for that as well with a few caught and bowleds and a couple of catches on the boundary. It was perfect adaption to the surface."
Lowest Total Defended vs Sri Lanka in T20 WCs (20-Overs):
137/6 by West Indies, Colombo (RPS), 2012
146/9 by England, Pallekele, Today*
163/4 by England, Sharjah, 2021
137/6 by West Indies, Colombo (RPS), 2012
146/9 by England, Pallekele, Today*
163/4 by England, Sharjah, 2021
Most Wins by England against an Opponent in T20Is:
21 vs Pakistan
19 vs West Indies
17 vs New Zealand
14 vs Sri Lanka*
13 vs South Africa
21 vs Pakistan
19 vs West Indies
17 vs New Zealand
14 vs Sri Lanka*
13 vs South Africa
A magnificent bowling performance from England to start their Super 8 campaign with a flourish against in-form hosts Sri Lanka who need to go on the drawing board again to see what went wrong with their batting and come back stronger. England will be happy with the important two points which take them to a better position in the T20 World Cup.
That's it from our coverage of the contest. Ninaad Dixit here signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Ajay Pal Singh & AkshayaKrishna Polya, scorer Raju Khariya and statistician Aman. Stay tuned for more cricketing action from the T20 World Cup and around the globe.
That's it from our coverage of the contest. Ninaad Dixit here signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Ajay Pal Singh & AkshayaKrishna Polya, scorer Raju Khariya and statistician Aman. Stay tuned for more cricketing action from the T20 World Cup and around the globe.