England’s spinners claimed 9 wickets to defend 128, handing Sri Lanka a 12-run defeat and completing a 3-0 series sweep in the final T20I on 3rd February on the slow Pallekele surface.
After opting to bowl first in the opening two games, Harry Brook chose to bat first this time after winning his fifth consecutive toss. England made a couple of changes, with Ben Duckett replacing Phil Salt, who suffered a back spasm during the warm-up, while Luke Wood came in for Jofra Archer.
Sri Lanka welcomed Kamindu Mendis back to the T20I side, with Charith Asalanka rested. Dushmantha Chameera replaced Eshan Malinga, who was ruled out after injuring his left shoulder in the previous T20I, while Maheesh Theekshana came in for Wanindu Hasaranga, who was sidelined following a minor surgery.
The hosts made early inroads with the ball as Chameera struck with the second delivery, removing Duckett for a golden duck after a successful LBW review. Matheesha Pathirana then dismissed both Jacob Bethell and Brook in consecutive overs, while Dunith Wellalage castled Tom Banton in between, reducing England to 34 for 4 inside the powerplay.
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Theekshana was introduced after the 7th over and made an immediate impact by cleaning up Jos Buttler for 25. Will Jacks, batting for the first time in the series, made no impact and became Chameera’s second victim as England slipped to 60 for 6.
England’s highest partnership came for the 7th wicket, where Sam Curran and Liam Dawson added a valuable 47 runs to push the total past 100. Chameera then returned to remove Dawson and Jamie Overton in the same over before dismissing Curran in the final over to complete his maiden 5-wicket haul in T20 Internationals. His previous best of 4 for 17 had also come against England in 2021.
England ended up with 128 for 9, thanks to Curran’s useful half-century, as only three batters managed to reach double figures. Chameera finished with career-best figures of 5 for 24. Theekshana also impressed on his return, using speed variations that had been missing from his recent outings, and ended up with figures of 1 for 16.
In the chase, Kamil Mishara fell to Luke Wood in the very first over. Pathum Nissanka looked to take on the England bowlers, hitting 3 sixes, but was dismissed for 23 by Dawson soon after. Batting became increasingly difficult on the slow pitch, which was used throughout the series. Kusal Mendis made a run-a-ball 26, but both he and Pavan Rathnayake were dismissed off consecutive deliveries.
England’s spinners continued to apply pressure on the hosts and picked up wickets at regular intervals as Sri Lanka’s middle order once again failed to meet expectations. From 90 for 4, the islanders slipped sharply to 113 for 9, still needing 16 off the final 2 overs.
Theekshana and Pathirana were unable to do much with the bat as England bowled Sri Lanka out for 116 with three deliveries to spare. Jacks struck 3 times while conceding just 14 runs in his 4 overs, before Bethell, an unlikely hero with the ball, sealed the deal for the visitors, picking up the final 4 wickets of the chase. England now have an 11-match winning streak against Sri Lanka in T20Is, having suffered their previous loss back in 2014.
Playing XI
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (WK), Dhananjaya de Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka (C), Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana
England: Jos Buttler (w), Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (C), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood
