After recording 146/9 in a thrilling match, England’s clinical all-around performance saw them defeat Sri Lanka by 51 runs in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Super Eights match, bundling out the hosts for just 95 runs in 16.4 overs.

With a persistent middle-overs squeeze that left Sri Lanka gasping, England’s spinners converted the match into a one-sided fight while defending a small score on a field that was favourable to bowlers. The hosts fell to 34/5, their second-lowest powerplay score among full member sides this edition, and the pursuit never bounced back from a spectacular powerplay failure.

The tone was established early by Jofra Archer, who removed Kamil Mishara after dismissing Pathum Nissanka with a well-placed trap at deep mid-wicket. Will Jacks, however, was the one that broke the innings’ backbone.

The off-spinner became the first spinner from England to take three wickets in a T20I powerplay after hitting twice in the fourth over, including the valuable wicket of Kusal Mendis, who was caught and bowled. He then added Dunith Wellalage to finish with an impressive 3/22.

Liam Dawson joined the act, spinning from both ends. Kamindu Mendis was explained by his drift and control, which also resulted in a scathing caught-and-bowled dismissal. Dushan Hemantha’s strange hit-wicket highlighted Sri Lanka’s collapse under duress.

Even though captain Dasun Shanaka launched a quick response, the match was essentially lost at 53/6. In an aggressive attempt to rekindle hopes, the right-hander hit two sixes in his 30 off 24 balls. But Adil Rashid’s cunning was the deciding factor. After removing Shanaka with a spectacular relay catch attempt in the deep, the leg-spinner used his signature wrong ‘un to clean up the tail.

When Rashid bowled Dilshan Madushanka over the gate to end the celebrations after Sri Lanka was dismissed for 95, their lowest score against England in T20 World Cups, he appropriately secured the victory.

England have previously had trouble gaining traction after being thrown in. The innings was supported by Phil Salt’s 62 off 40 balls, but Wellalage’s (3-26) and Maheesh Theekshana’s (2-21) disciplined spells held them to 146/9.

However, that number was more than sufficient as England’s spinners controlled and accurately stifled the chase, extending their dominance over Sri Lanka with a 12th straight T20I victory in the head-to-head match.

Despite a disciplined bowling effort that had earlier held the opposition to a modest score, Sri Lanka’s captain Dasun Shanaka did not hold back from acknowledging his team’s batting failure after they were bowled out for just 95 and lost to England by 51 runs.

When Shanaka thought back on the match, he was disappointed with Sri Lanka’s reckless and poorly thought-out batting display, which wasted a fine bowling performance.

Although it is really disheartening, there were a lot of good things about the ball. Therefore, I believe we managed to keep them at least 20 runs below par. After the game, Shanaka summarized the reasons for the poor score by saying, “I anticipated my players to bat well.”

“A lovely birthday gift. During the post-match presentation, Brook remarked, “I felt we played excellently there, and to go over the line and bowl them out for less than 100 is an awesome performance.”

Brief scores:
England 146/9 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 62; Dunith Wellalage 3-26, Maheesh Theekshana 2-21)
Sri Lanka 95/10 in 16.4 overs (Dasun Shanaka 30; Will Jacks 3-22, Adil Rashid 2-13, Jofra Archer 2-20)