Watch the highlights of Sri Lanka vs England 1st T20I 2026 - England tour of Sri Lanka 3-match Twenty20 international series of the 1st T20I match played between England and Sri Lanka at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele on 30th January 2026.
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| Sam Curran celebrates his hat-trick © Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo |
Sam Curran's stunning hat-trick, Spinners Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson's combined 5-wickets before Phil Salt's 46 and Tom Banton's 15-ball 29 helped to England cruising to via DLS method win against Sri Lanka and take a 1-0 lead in a rain-shortened game of the first T20I.
Match Stats : |
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Sri Lanka bowled out for 133 in 17 overs - match reduced from 20 to 17-overs per a side - due to rain - with top scorer by Kusal Mendis hammered a 37 off 20-balls including 4-fours & 2-sixes with strike rate of 185.
Pathum Nissanka struck 23 off 20-balls including 3-fours & a six, Dasun Shanaka hit 20 off 16-balls included 2-sixes.
Kamil Mishara blasted a 16 off 9-balls including 2-fours & a six with strike rate of 177.77 and Wanindu Hasaranga scored 14 off 12-balls contained 2-fours.
England best bowler by Adil Rashid picked up 3-wickets, Sam Curran captured three-wickets for 38-runs in 3-overs including a hat-trick after removing of Dasun Shanaka (20), Maheesh Theekshana (0) and (
Matheesha Pathirana (0), Jamie Overton and Liam Dawson both took 2-wickets.
England scored 125-4 in 15 overs - due to rain DLS par score 114 after 15 overs England were 11 runs ahead of the par score when the rain-thrash the match - with top scorer by Phil Salt struck 46 off 35-balls including 3-fours & 2-sixes.
Tom Banton hammered a 29 off 15-balls including 3-fours & 2-sixes with strike rate of 193.33, Jos Buttler hit 17 off 10-balls included 4-fours with strike rate of 170 and Harry Brook scored a unbeaten 16 off 18-balls contained a four.
Sri Lanka best bowler by Ehsan Malinga captured two-wickets and one for Dasun Shanaka - Matheesha Pathirana.
Adil Rashid named Player of the match for his excellent economical bowling performance to picked up 3-wickets for 19-runs in 4-overs with economy rate of 4.74.
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