England beat Sri Lanka in 2nd T20I, seal series: Stats
What's the story
England downed Sri Lanka in the 2nd T20I of the three-match series at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele. Sri Lanka managed 189/5 with the likes of Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, and Pavan Rathnayake scoring useful runs. Jofra Archer managed 2/42 for England. In response, rain saw England's target get set to 168 from 17 overs. England won by six wickets (DLS method).
Information
England seal series with a game to go
England picked up their 2nd successive win to seal the series. England can now hope to whitewash Sri Lanka when the two sides meet on February 3. It has been a successful tour for England, who won the ODI series 2-1.
Summary
Summary of the match
Lankan openers Nissanka and Mishara added 56 runs for the first wicket. Another 52 runs were added for the 2nd wicket between Mishara and Mendis. England hit back and reduced Sri Lanka at 131/4. Rathnayake and Charith Asalanka's partnership helped them get past 180. In response, Jos Buttler hit a solid 39-run knock. Tom Banton (56), Harry Brook (36) and Sam Curran (20*) shone.
SL openers
Key numbers for Sri Lankan openers
Nissanka managed a 22-ball 34. He hit two sixes and three fours. He has raced to 2,414 runs in T20Is from 83 games at 30.94. As per ESPNcricinfo, versus England, he owns 125 runs from 4 matches at 31.25. Mishara got a 30-ball 36. He slammed 2 fours and 2 sixes. He has amassed 423 runs from 17 matches at 28.20.
Duo (2)
Key numbers for Mendis and Rathnayake
Mendis showed his mettle with a quickfire 17-ball 32. He slammed four fours and a six. He now owns 2,399 runs from 99 matches for Sri Lanka at 25.52. Versus England, he has scored 163 runs from 8 matches at 20.37. Rathnayake scored a 22-ball 40. He hit 5 fours and a six. He now owns 48 runs from 2 innings.
Information
Asalanka scores an unbeaten 28
Charith Asalanka scored an unbeaten 28 from 22 balls. He hit 4 fours. In 74 matches, he owns 1,426 runs at 22.63. Against England, he has got to 59 runs from 4 matches at 19.66.
England bowlers
Archer does a reasonable job; Rashid nears dual milestone
Archer's 2/42 from 4 overs means he now owns 46 scalps from 37 matches at 23.71. Overall in the 20-over format, he has bagged 227 scalps from 184 games at 23.55. Adil Rashid was once again solid. He clocked 1/25 from 4 overs. Rashid is closing in on 150 T20I scalps (149) and 400 T20 scalps (398).
Buttler
Buttler surpasses 3,900 runs in T20Is
Buttler scored 39 runs off 29 ball, hitting six fours. Playing his 484th match in the 20-over format, Buttler has 13,733 runs from 455 innings at 35.48. As many as 3,925 of his T20 runs have come for England in T20Is from 146 games (134 innings). He averages 35.36 (SR: 148.89). Versus Sri Lanka, he has bagged 441 runs from 11 games.
Information
Banton shows his class with 33-ball 54*
Banton showed his class with a 33-ball 54*. He hammered four fours and 3 sixes. In 26 matches for England (23 innings), he owns 534 runs at 28.10. He registered his 3rd fifty. He also surpassed 50 fours (52).
Do you know?
Brook scores 12-ball 36; completes 50 T20I sixes
Brook's 36 came off 12 balls. He slammed 4 sixes and 2 fours. Brook has raced to 1,064 runs for England at 31.29. He also got to 50 sixes. In all T20s, Brook has 3,942 runs from 168 games (155 innings). He owns 169 sixes.
SL bowling
Matheesha Pathirana claims 2/47 for SL
Matheesha Pathirana claimed 2/47 for Sri Lanka from his 4 overs. In all T20s, he has 142 scalps from 105 appearances at an impressive 21.37. Pathirana, who will play for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2026 season, has raced to 36 scalps from 24 matches for Sri Lanka at 18.47.