Sam Curran became the second English bowler to score a hat-trick in a men’s T20 international as his side defeated Sri Lanka by 11 runs in the DLS in the rain-dropped series opener at Palekele.
Curran (3-38), who had scored a total of 35 runs in the first two overs of the 17-over match, had Dasun Shanaka (20 for 16) and Mahesh Tekshana (0) catch successive balls before bowling Masisha Pathirana (0).
The 27-year-old’s hat-trick, achieved in the 16th over of the innings, matched the feat of his Surrey teammate Chris Jordan, who took three wickets in three balls for England against the United States in Barbados during the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Sri Lanka plummeted from 129-6 to 129-9 thanks to Curran’s burst, but two balls later Jamie Overton (2-17) cleaned up Wanindu Hasaranga (14) to end the innings and the hosts collapsed from 76-1 after seven overs.
Sri Lanka lost five wickets in the same over, all to the spin of either Adil Rashid (3-19) or Liam Dawson (2-31), once to Pathum Nissanka (23 off 20 balls); For the second wicket, he took 52 off 28 balls with Kusal Mendis (37 off 20), but the top-edge Rashid trailed only England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler with the same tally. It was his 401st appearance for his country across all formats, equaling James Anderson’s total.
The home side lamented their poor performance, with Phil Salt (35 off 46) dropping 17 in the chase and Kamil Mishara dropping 17 with a shocking blunder at deep midwicket. England reached 125-4 in 15 overs before the pouring rain, with Tom Bunton taking 29 for 15, Butler 17 for 10 and Harry Brook 16 for 18.
Phil Salt contributed to England’s victory at Palekele
Salt and opening partner Buttler put on 37 runs in 2.5 overs, but Buttler was bowled by Eshan Malinga (2-24), who had just crossed the mark for the fourth time in a row, and Malinga also contributed to Jacob Bethel (9 hits for 11), who was caught at cover.
England lead the series with an eye on the T20 World Cup
Ahead of Tuesday’s final match, England will be hoping to wrap up their series victory with a second T20 win on Sunday, before both sides will turn their attention to the T20 World Cup between India and Sri Lanka, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports from February 7.
England’s first match will be against Nepal in Mumbai on Sunday 8 February (9.30am UK), while Sri Lanka will play Ireland later the same day in Colombo (1.30pm).
England leg-spinner Adil Rashid’s 3 wins and 19 losses took him to 148 T20 international wickets.
Sri Lanka will need to bat better than they did against England on Friday to advance in the World Cup, but the hosts were wilting under Nissanka, with Mishara (16 off 9) and Mendis collapsing after a turbulent start as Dawson slammed the ball into his leg stump early in the innings but remained bailed.
After England put the hosts on, Curran bowled the first over of the game and was whipped for 15 runs and a leg bye, but his seventh and second over of the night was nailed for 20 before a middle-over implosion from Sri Lanka aiming for spin.
The left-arm seamer split his tail after home captain Shanaka was dismissed, paving the way for England to complete victory in the chase.
Salt creamed Teekshana’s first ball for six and followed with four consecutive balls, but Buttler hit a boundary blitz in his third over before falling to Malinga’s dropping slow ball, and Sri Lanka’s new ball bowling almost went off the line.
Salt missed a chance for a half-century by holing out at long-on off Shanaka (1-12), while Banton was well caught at the cover of Charice Asaranka off Pathirana (1-18).
Liam Dawson takes two wickets as Sri Lanka falter due to spin.
England in Sri Lanka – Match results and fixtures
always UK and Ireland
England T20 World Cup fixtures (1st round)
Always UK and Ireland. All matches will be streamed live on Sky Sports
vs Nepal (Sunday 8 February) – Mumbai (9.30am) vs West Indies (Wednesday 11 February) – Mumbai (1.30pm) vs Scotland (Saturday 14 February) – Kolkata (9.30am) vs Italy (Monday 16 February) – Kolkata (9.30am)
