Sri Lanka beaten in second match too
ThePapareNews article
Sri Lanka, on tour in England, went down by 6 wickets in the second T20 International as well. With this win, England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series with a game still to play.
In this day-night fixture played at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on the 17th, Sri Lanka were invited to bat first after England's captain won the toss, and they managed 145 for 9. In reply, the hosts reached the target losing only 4 wickets with as many as 47 balls to spare.
This was England's 14th successive win over Sri Lanka in T20 International history between the two nations. The last time Sri Lanka beat England in a T20 International was 12 years ago, in the match played at The Oval in 2014.
Sri Lanka went into this match with two changes, resting the side's two frontline spinners, Dunith Wellalage and Maheesh Theekshana. Their replacements were Tharindu Rathnayake, who can bowl spin with both arms, and left-arm medium-pacer Dilshan Madushanka. This match was Tharindu Rathnayake's T20 International debut.
England brought in Jofra Archer in place of Josh Tongue for this match.
Sri Lanka squad
Charith Asalanka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Udara, Kamil Mishara (wicketkeeper), Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Tharindu Rathnayake, Dushmantha Chameera, Eshan Malinga and Dilshan Madushanka.
England squad
Harry Brook (captain), Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Aneurin Donald, Tom Banton, Jordan Cox, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, and Sonny Baker.
Sri Lanka's innings was opened by Pathum Nissanka and Lahiru Udara, who gave their side a fine start. The pair added 56 runs for the first wicket off 33 balls.
That partnership was broken by the dismissal of Lahiru Udara. He had made 21 off 20 balls with 5 fours.
After his dismissal, Kamil Mishara fell for a duck on the very first ball he faced.
Pathum Nissanka became the innings' top scorer and when he departed as the third wicket he had made 37 off 21 balls with 4 fours and a six. Along the way he added a 19-run stand off 14 balls for that wicket with captain Charith Asalanka.
After Pathum Nissanka's dismissal, Kamindu Mendis departed for 12 and Dasun Shanaka for 4, while Charith Asalanka joined Wanindu Hasaranga to add 44 runs off 34 balls for the sixth wicket, taking Sri Lanka's score past 100.
Charith Asalanka, dismissed as the sixth wicket of the innings, had made 31 off 31 balls with 3 fours, and Wanindu Hasaranga, who fell next, had made 27 off 22 balls with a six and 2 fours. With their dismissals, Sri Lanka's last 4 wickets fell for 6 runs in the space of 16 balls.
The other batters dismissed were Tharindu Rathnayake (4) and Dushmantha Chameera (0). At the end of the innings Eshan Malinga was unbeaten without scoring.
With the ball, Liam Dawson recorded the best bowling figures of the innings with 3 wickets for 32 runs, while Jamie Overton and Jofra Archer took two wickets each and Sonny Baker and Adil Rashid a wicket each.
Tom Banton was the top scorer in England's reply. Reaching his fifth half-century in T20 Internationals off the 24th ball he faced, his 42nd match, he was unbeaten on 52 with 2 fours and 4 sixes when the match ended in victory.
He also added a 57-run stand off 24 balls for the fourth wicket with Jordan Cox (12) to hasten the win.
England opener Jos Buttler made 30 off 16 balls with 4 fours and a six. He put on a first-wicket stand of 51 off 28 balls with the other opener, Aneurin Donald, who made 21 off 13 balls with 2 fours and a six.
In addition, captain Harry Brook contributed 23 off 8 balls with 3 sixes and a four to that winning innings.
With the ball, Tharindu Rathnayake, Eshan Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga claimed a wicket each.
Match scorecard in brief
- Sri Lanka – 145 for 9 (20.0) Pathum Nissanka 37, Lahiru Udara 21, Charith Asalanka 31, Wanindu Hasaranga 27, Jofra Archer 2/34, Liam Dawson 3/32, Jamie Overton 2/23
- England – 146 for 4 (12.1) Jos Buttler 30, Aneurin Donald 21, Harry Brook 23, Tom Banton 52 not out
England won by 6 wickets.
Player of the match – Liam Dawson (England)
The third and final T20 International between the two sides is due to be played on the 19th of this month, as a night match at Old Trafford in Manchester.
England won by 6 wickets
Updated at 02:28 AM 2026-09-18
Sri Lanka 1st Innings
- Batsmen · R · B · 4s · 6s · SR
- Pathum Nissanka · c Harry Brook b Jamie Overton · 37 · 21 · 4 · 1 · 176.19
- Lahiru Udara · c Jamie Overton b Liam Dawson · 21 · 20 · 5 · 0 · 105.00
- Kamil Mishara · c & b Liam Dawson · 0 · 1 · 0 · 0 · 0.00
- Charith Asalanka · c Jamie Overton b Adil Rashid · 31 · 31 · 3 · 0 · 100.00
- Kamindu Mendis · b Jamie Overton · 12 · 8 · 2 · 0 · 150.00
- Dasun Shanaka · c Aneurin Donald b Liam Dawson · 4 · 4 · 0 · 0 · 100.00
- Wanindu Hasaranga · c Liam Dawson b Sonny Baker · 27 · 22 · 2 · 1 · 122.73
- Tharindu Rathnayake · c Harry Brook b Jofra Archer · 4 · 7 · 0 · 0 · 57.14
- Dushmantha Chameera · b Jofra Archer · 0 · 5 · 0 · 0 · 0.00
- Eshan Malinga · not out · 0 · 1 · 0 · 0 · 0.00
- Extras · 9 (b 5 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 3, pen 0)
- Total · 145/9 (20 Overs, RR: 7.25)
- Fall of wickets: · 1-12 (NE Bolton, 1.1 ov), 2-40 (MM Lanning, 8.1 ov), 3-148 (AJ Healy, 26.6 ov), 4-151 (EA Perry, 28.5 ov), 5-225 (RL Haynes, 39.3 ov), 6-225 (BL Mooney, 40.1 ov), 7-312 (S Molineux, 49.2 ov)
- Bowling · O · M · R · W · Econ
- Sonny Baker · 4 · 0 · 15 · 1 · 3.75
- Jofra Archer · 4 · 0 · 34 · 2 · 8.50
- Will Jacks · 1 · 0 · 17 · 0 · 17.00
- Liam Dawson · 4 · 0 · 32 · 3 · 8.00
- Jamie Overton · 4 · 0 · 23 · 2 · 5.75
- Adil Rashid · 3 · 0 · 18 · 1 · 6.00
England 1st Innings
- Batsmen · R · B · 4s · 6s · SR
- Jos Buttler · c Kamil Mishara b Dushmantha Chameera · 30 · 16 · 4 · 1 · 187.50
- Aneurin Donald · c Wanindu Hasaranga b Eshan Malinga · 21 · 13 · 2 · 1 · 161.54
- Harry Brook · c Eshan Malinga b Wanindu Hasaranga · 23 · 8 · 1 · 3 · 287.50
- Tom Banton · not out · 52 · 24 · 2 · 4 · 216.67
- Jordan Cox · c Lahiru Udara b Tharindu Rathnayake · 12 · 7 · 0 · 1 · 171.43
- Will Jacks · not out · 3 · 6 · 0 · 0 · 50.00
- Extras · 5 (b 0 , lb 1 , nb 1, w 3, pen 0)
- Total · 146/4 (12.1 Overs, RR: 12)
- Fall of wickets: · 1-12 (NE Bolton, 1.1 ov), 2-40 (MM Lanning, 8.1 ov), 3-148 (AJ Healy, 26.6 ov), 4-151 (EA Perry, 28.5 ov), 5-225 (RL Haynes, 39.3 ov), 6-225 (BL Mooney, 40.1 ov), 7-312 (S Molineux, 49.2 ov)
- Bowling · O · M · R · W · Econ
- Dilshan Madusanka · 2 · 0 · 22 · 0 · 11.00
- Dushmantha Chameera · 3 · 0 · 29 · 1 · 9.67
- Wanindu Hasaranga · 3 · 0 · 42 · 1 · 14.00
- Eshan Malinga · 2.1 · 0 · 27 · 1 · 12.86
- Tharindu Rathnayake · 2 · 0 · 25 · 1 · 12.50
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