England completed a rapid march to a 2 0 series victory over Sri Lanka in T20 cricket, sealing the contest with a game still to play. After crushing the tourists by 119 runs in the opening fixture at the Utilita Bowl, Harry Brook’s men returned to Cardiff and cruised past a modest target of 146, doing so with 47 balls remaining. Tom Banton anchored the chase, finishing unbeaten on 52 from just 24 deliveries.
The win extended England’s dominant record at Sophia Gardens to ten victories from twelve finished matches, while their overall tally since Brook assumed captaincy last June now reads twenty two wins from twenty five completed games.
Sri Lanka’s caretaker captain Charith Asalanka opted to field first, banking on the venue’s short straight boundaries to help a run chase, yet his own batters could not muster enough intent when setting the total. Pathum Nissanka provided the only real spark, striking 37 from 21 balls, supported briefly by Kamindu Mendis’s 12 from 8. Nissanka’s early aggression carried Sri Lanka to 55 without loss inside five overs, but the innings stalled badly afterward, adding only 90 for 9 across the remaining fifteen overs and managing just seven runs in the final three, including a wicket maiden delivered by Sonny Baker in the 19th.
A costly passage arrived when Will Jacks conceded 17 runs in a single over, unable to defend the ground’s shorter dimensions, before Liam Dawson struck twice in successive deliveries to dismiss Lahiru Udara and Kamil Mishara during the closing powerplay over.
From there, Sri Lanka never regained momentum. Contributions of 31 from Asalanka and 27 from Hasaranga could not offset a disciplined middle phase bowled by Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid and Dawson, the latter claiming figures of 3 for 32 to earn the player of the match award.
