England came out all guns blazing and delivered a professional performance to down Sri Lanka in a rain affected game in Pallekele. In a game that was reduced to 17 overs a side, England came back with the ball in hand after the initial 6-7 overs to keep Sri Lanka down to 133 in 16.2 overs. Adil Rashid picked up a 3-wicket haul in the middle phase of the innings while Sam Curran completed a memorable hat-trick and became the second Englishman to achieve the feat while Jamie Overton picked up two wickets.
In reply, Philip Salt came out all guns blazing alongside Jos Buttler with the former scoring 46 off 35 balls while Buttler fell after getting a start. Tom Banton chipped in with useful contribution while Eshan Malinga picked up 2 wickets for Sri Lanka. Salt fell to Shanaka with 11 to get as Sam Curran joined Brook in the middle. The duo added 2 more runs to the score as England reached 125/4 in 15 overs needing 9 runs off 12 balls before rain intervened and DLS found England to be 11 runs ahead of par score to go 1-0 ahead in the series.
Adil Rashid & Sam Curran combine to skittle Sri Lanka out for 133 in 16.2 overs
Put into bat first in a 17-over game due to rain, Pathum Nissanka and Kamil Mishara came out to open for Sri Lanka while Sam Curran had ball in hand for England. The Sri Lankan openers were quick off the blocks as Mishara was off and running with boundaries and sixes. Nissanka too started well. The duo put on 24 runs in 2.3 overs before Mishara was sent back by Jamie Overton for 16 off 9 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name. Keeper batter Kusal Mendis came out to bat next.
Nissanka and Mendis then put in a partnership where Mendis was the aggressor of the two as Sri Lanka did well in the 5.1 overs of powerplay getting to 51/1 in the powerplay. They went beyond that and the duo put on 52-run stand for the second wicket with Kusal scoring bulk of the runs. Then came the moment where Adil Rashid came into the attack and removed Nissanka for 23 off 20 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name. Charith Asalanka came out to bat next.
Asalanka did not last long as just three runs were added to the score before Asalanka fell for 2 off 5 balls to Liam Dawson. Dhananjaya de Silva came out to bat next. Mendis and de Silva added another 10 runs to the scoreboard before the set batter went as Mendis fell for 37 off 20 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name to that man Rashid yet again. Janith Liyanage came out to bat next but he did not last long either.
The duo of Dhananjaya de Silva and Liyanage could add just 9 runs to the tally before Liyanage fell for 1 off 2 balls to Dawson. Captain Dasun Shanaka came out to bat next. Sri Lanka lost another as Dhananjaya de Silva fell for 11 off 12 balls with one four to his name as Rashid got another as the Lankans collapsed from 76/1 to 98/6 in no time. Wanindu Hasaranga came out to bat next.
Shanaka and Hasaranga the last recognised batters for Sri Lanka had to build a partnership from 98/6 and played the ball to the merit and built a good stand for the 7th wicket. The duo added 31 crucial runs for the 7th wicket and looked good for more but then Shanaka fell for 20 off 16 balls with 2 sixes to his name to Sam Curran who was now about to do something really special for him and England.
Maheesh Theekshana came in and fell first ball for a golden duck to Sam Curran who now had two in two balls. Matheesha Pathirana came to face the hat-trick ball and got a searing yorker that rattled the stumps as he too went for a golden duck as Curran completed a memorable hat-trick becoming the second England bowler to achieve the feat. Eshan Malinga came out to bat next.
Jamie Overton came to bowl the final over and was hit for a boundary over mid-off by Hasaranga before Overton hit back and cleaned up Hasaranga for 14 off 12 balls with 2 fours to his name as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 133 in 16.2 overs with 9 extras given by the fielding side.
England bowled really well out there in the back-end of the innings. Adil Rashid was the pick of the bowlers for England with figures of 3/19 in 4 overs. Sam Curran completed a hat-trick and finished with 3/38 in 3 overs. Jamie Overton finished with 2/17 in 2.2 overs. Liam Dawson chipped in with 2/31 in 4 overs. Jofra Archer finished with 0/22 in 3 overs. So, this meant England needed 134 runs off 17 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match T20I series.
Philip Salt’s important 46 guides England through the finishing line as DLS method comes into play with rain arriving towards the end
Chasing 134 runs in 17 overs, Philip Salt and keeper batter Jos Buttler came out to bat for England while Maheesh Theekshana had ball in hand for Sri Lanka. England came out all guns blazing as Salt hit the first ball of the innings for a maximum and then followed it with two consecutive boundaries as the statement was made by England. Jos Buttler started aggressively as England meant business in this chase as they tried to break the back of it.
The duo put on 36 in 2.5 overs before Buttler the keeper batter fell for 17 off 10 balls with 4 boundaries to his name to Eshan Malinga. Jacob Bethell came out to bat next at 3. Bethell did not last long as 12 runs were added to the score before Bethell fell for 9 off 11 balls with 2 fours to his name to Malinga yet again. Tom Banton came out to bat next.
Banton was quick off the blocks while Salt was in his elements as England marched towards the target keeping the required rate under control. Salt and Banton put on an important 39-run stand for the 3rd wicket to keep the innings going forward before Banton fell for 29 off 15 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Matheesha Pathirana as it was too little too late for Sri Lanka.
Captain Harry Brook came out to bat next and looked in strife as he struggled playing the spinners and was a cat under hot roof at one point. Salt slowed down from his fast start and decided to guide the chase through and looked at ease in the crease. The duo of Salt and Brook took the innings forward and took England within touching distance of the win at a fair clip. The duo put on 36 runs for the 4th wicket before Salt well for a well compiled 46 off 35 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name to captain Dasun Shanaka.
Sam Curran came out to join Harry Brook in the middle with 11 required for the win. England reached 125/4 in 15 overs and needed a mere 9 runs off 12 balls with 6 wickets in hand when the heavens opened up as the rain came in to halt play early. The players trudged off the field and after a wait of 5-10 minutes, the game was called off and England were declared winners by the DLS method.
Harry Brook remained unbeaten on 16 off 18 balls with one four to his name while Sam Curran was unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball as England got the win in the end and a 1-0 lead in the 3-match T20I series. For Sri Lanka, Eshan Malinga was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/24 in 2 overs. Matheesha Pathirana bowled well for his 1/18 in 4 overs. Captain Dasun Shanaka finished with 1/12 in 2 overs. Maheesh Theekshana went for 31 runs in 3 overs while Wanindu Hasaranga finished with 0/36 in 4 overs.
The DLS par score was 114 runs in 15 overs and England were 11 runs ahead and thereby winning the contest by 11 runs under the DLS method to take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series. Adil Rashid was awarded the Player of the Match award.
What Lies Ahead
So, England have drawn first blood in the series with a good win and lead the 3-match T20I series 1-0. The next game takes place on Sunday at the same venue i.e. Pallekele on 1st February, 2026 from 7 PM IST onwards. Can Sri Lanka fight back and level the series on Sunday? Or will England seal the series on Sunday itself? Find that answer when action happens weather permitting on Sunday.
Let’s wait and see how the game unfolds on Sunday evening in Pallekele.
Also Read: SL VS ENG: Sam Curran’s Hat-Trick Restricts Sri Lanka To 133 In 17-Over Game.