Pallekele. In T20 World Cup 2026, England defeated Sri Lanka by 51 runs. While chasing the target of 147 runs against England at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, the entire Sri Lankan team failed to score only 95 runs in 16.4 overs. The Sri Lankan batsmen easily succumbed to the English bowlers. The team lost wickets at frequent intervals. Captain Dasun Shanaka scored the maximum 30 runs for Sri Lanka. However, he could not get support from the rest of the batsmen. Apart from Shanaka, Kamindu Mendis contributed 13 runs, while Dunith Vellallage scored 10 runs. In bowling, Will Jacques took 3 wickets for England, conceding only 22 runs in 4 overs. At the same time, Joffra Archer and Liam Dawson took two wickets each. Adil Rashid also took 2 wickets while spending just 13 runs in 3.4 overs. With defeating Sri Lanka, England has reached the top of the second group of Super-8.
Earlier, England, who came to bat after losing the toss, did not have a good start. Jos Buttler was out after scoring only 7 runs, while Jacob Bethel returned to the pavilion after scoring 3 runs. Tom Banton’s disappointing performance continued in this match as well and he was run out after scoring 6 runs. Captain Harry Brook also could not do anything special with the bat and returned to the pavilion after scoring 14 runs.
Sam Curran contributed 11 runs, while Will Jacques scored 21 runs in 14 balls. However, Phil Salt held one end and he played a strong inning of 62 runs in 40 balls with the help of 6 fours and 2 sixes. Due to Salt’s innings, England managed to score 146 runs on the scoreboard after losing 9 wickets in 20 overs.
Dunith Vellalage performed brilliantly in bowling for Sri Lanka, taking 3 wickets for just 26 runs in 4 overs. Whereas, Dilshan Madushanka and Mahesh Teekshana took two wickets each.
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