Jos Buttler became the first player to achieve 15,000 T20 runs, Tom Banton scored a half-century and Liam Dawson got key wickets as England beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in the second match to clinch the three-match series with a game to spare in Cardiff.
IMAGE: England opener Jos Buttler scored 30 off 16 balls, including 4 fours and a six, as he became the first player to achieve the 15,000 T20 runs milestone in the second game against Sri Lanka, at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales, on Thursday. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Reuters
Key Points
- England secured a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Cardiff, sealing the T20 series 2-0.
- Jos Buttler became the first cricketer to achieve 15,000 career T20 runs during the match.
- Liam Dawson was named Player of the Match for his crucial three-wicket haul (3-32).
- Tom Banton’s unbeaten 52 off 24 balls anchored England’s chase of 146 runs.
- Sri Lanka posted 145/9, with Pathum Nissanka scoring 37, but lost momentum after a strong start.
IMAGE: Tom Banton hits a six on his way to scoring 52 off 24 balls, including 2 fours and 4 sixes. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Reuters
Jos Buttler became the first player to score 15,000 career T20 runs and Liam Dawson took a three-wicket haul as a dominant England beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in Cardiff on Thursday to secure the series 2-0.
The hosts won Tuesday’s first T20 in Southampton by 119 runs and followed it up on an overcast evening with a 14th consecutive victory over Sri Lanka in the format.
IMAGE: Harry Brook celebrates after taking the catch to dismiss Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka off the bowling of Jamie Overton. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Reuters
Set a target of 146, after winning the toss and opting to bowl at a murky and overcast Sophia Gardens, England had marched to 48-0 after four overs but openers Aneurin Donald (21) and Buttler (30) then walked back quick succession for 55-2.
Big-hitting captain Harry Brook smashed three sixes in one over but went for 23, well caught by Eshan Malinga off a Wanindu Hasaranga delivery, before Tom Banton steadied the ship with a top scoring 52 not out from 24 balls as England cantered towards another easy win with 47 balls and 7.5 overs to spare.
Sri Lanka’s Batting Struggles
IMAGE: Pathum Nissanka was Sri Lanka’s top-scorer, with 37 off 21 balls. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Reuters
Sri Lanka posted 145 for 9 from their 20 overs, an improvement on their previous 135 all out in 19, with opener Pathum Nissanka hitting 37 from 21 balls.
They had carved out a promising 56-0 but lost momentum with Jamie Overton taking the first wicket with a leaping catch off Player of the Match Dawson, who took his second wicket with the next ball of the sixth over and ended with figures of 3-32.
Bowling Performances Secure Victory
IMAGE: Liam Dawson celebrates taking the wicket of Sri Lanka’s Kamil Mishara, caught and bowled. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Reuters
Jofra Archer (2-34) returned for his 50th T20 cap after being rested for the first T20 of the series, with fellow-seamer Josh Tongue dropping out, and took two wickets in the final over with Dushmantha Chameera bowled middle stump for a duck and Tharindu Rathnayake caught by Brook.
Sonny Baker had another excellent evening with the ball, finishing 1-15 from his four overs with a wicket maiden in the 19th.
Donald, playing on home Welsh soil after making his debut in Southampton, dropped Dasun Shanaka but made up for it with a catch three deliveries later for Dawson’s third wicket.
The final T20 of the three-match series is at Manchester’s Old Trafford on Saturday.
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