Sam Curran became England’s second bowler to take a T20I hat-trick before Phil Salt guided the visitors to an 11-run win by the DLS method in a rain-shortened first T20I against Sri Lanka on Friday (30th January) in Pallekele.
The start of the match was delayed due to rain, with the toss eventually taking place at 8.25 pm. England captain Harry Brook opted to bowl first after the game was reduced to 17 overs per side. The visitors had named their XI a day earlier, with premier pacer Jofra Archer returning to the side. Tom Banton was also included, replacing Ben Duckett, who missed out due to a bruised finger sustained during the third ODI in Colombo.
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Sri Lanka retained the same winning combination from their third T20I against Pakistan, played on 11 January.
The two openers got off to a brisk start, smashing 16 runs off the first over bowled by Sam Curran. However, it took England just 2.3 overs to break the opening stand with only 24 runs on the board. Kamil Mishara launched Jamie Overton for a six off his first delivery but fell to the same bowler two deliveries later.
Sri Lanka’s highest partnership came for the second wicket, with Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis adding 52 runs off 28 balls. Nissanka struck three fours and a six but struggled to fully settle before being dismissed by Adil Rashid. Charith Asalanka walked in at No. 4 but made no impact, becoming Rashid’s second victim. Mendis briefly found momentum after scoring 20 runs off Curran’s second over, but the loss of two quick wickets applied pressure, and he was eventually dismissed for a 20-ball 37.
From there, wickets fell regularly. Skipper Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga added 31 runs for the seventh wicket, but a cluster of dismissals followed soon after. From a strong position of 76/1, Sri Lanka collapsed and were bowled out for 133 with four balls remaining, losing nine wickets for just 57 runs.
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Curran, who had conceded 35 runs in his first two overs, returned for the penultimate over and produced a remarkable turnaround by claiming a hat-trick off the final three deliveries. Rashid was the standout in the middle overs, finishing with figures of 3 for 19 from his four overs.
Phil Salt set the tone in the chase, striking 14 runs in the first over, including a six off the very first ball off Maheesh Theekshana. Jos Buttler followed with four consecutive boundaries in Eshan Malinga’s third over, but the bowler struck back immediately, castling him.
Sri Lanka somehow managed to slow the scoring, with Matheesha Pathirana conceding just six runs in his first two overs and Malinga removing Jacob Bethell inside the powerplay. The hosts missed a crucial chance when Mishara dropped Salt at mid-wicket off Hasaranga’s first delivery when he was on 17. Tom Banton then took on Hasaranga, smashing a four and two sixes in successive deliveries. Pathirana returned to dismiss Banton for a quick 29, with Asalanka taking a sharp catch at cover. Nissanka later dropped Brook on 11 off Pathirana’s bowling.
Salt fell four runs short of a fifty in the 15th over before rain returned, with England needing nine runs from the final two overs. At the end of 14 overs, the DLS par score stood at 114, and with no further play possible, England were declared winners by the DLS method.
Pathirana bowled superbly to finish with figures of 1 for 18 from his four overs, but once again, Sri Lanka were left to rue their inability to post enough runs on the board.
Playing XI
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (WK), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka (C), Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Eshan Malinga
England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (w), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (C), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | c Jos Buttler b Adil Rashid | 23 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 115.00 |
| Kamil Mishara | c Liam Dawson, b Jamie Overton | 16 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 177.78 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Jamie Overton b Adil Rashid | 37 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 185.00 |
| Charith Asalanka | c Jacob Bethell b Liam Dawson, | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Tom Curran b Adil Rashid | 11 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 91.67 |
| Janith Liyanage | lbw b Liam Dawson, | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 50.00 |
| Dasun Shanaka | c Harry Brook b Sam Curran | 20 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 125.00 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | b Jamie Overton | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 116.67 |
| Mahesh Theekshana | c Jamie Overton b Sam Curran | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Matheesha Pathirana | b Sam Curran | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Eshan Malinga | not out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 9 (b 4 , lb 2 , nb 0, w 3, pen 0) |
| Total | 133/10 (16.2 Overs, RR: 8.14) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Curran | 3 | 0 | 38 | 3 | 12.67 | |
| Joe Root | 3 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 7.33 | |
| Jamie Overton | 2.2 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 7.73 | |
| Liam Dawson, | 4 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 7.75 | |
| Adil Rashid | 4 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 4.75 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Salt | c Dunith Wellalage b Dasun Shanaka | 46 | 35 | 2 | 1 | 131.43 |
| Jos Buttler | b Eshan Malinga | 17 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 170.00 |
| Jacob Bethell | c Dasun Shanaka b Eshan Malinga | 9 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 81.82 |
| Tom Banton | c Charith Asalanka b Matheesha Pathirana | 29 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 193.33 |
| Harry Brook | not out | 16 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 88.89 |
| Sam Curran | not out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | 7 (b 0 , lb 4 , nb 0, w 3, pen 0) |
| Total | 125/4 (15 Overs, RR: 8.33) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahesh Theekshana | 3 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 10.33 | |
| Matheesha Pathirana | 4 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 4.50 | |
| Eshan Malinga | 2 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 12.00 | |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | 4 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 9.00 | |
| Dasun Shanaka | 2 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 6.00 | |
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