Jos Buttler’s record-setting 402nd appearance for England captivated the tourists with a cameo from captain Harry Brook and Tom Bunton’s first half-century as he secured a six-wicket victory in the rain-hit second T20 in Sri Lanka, a series-clinching victory.
Buttler’s international appearances consist of 57 Tests, 199 ODIs and 146 T20Is, surpassing James Anderson’s 401 matches.
The 35-year-old (39 off 29 balls) hit six fours and England had made 168 from 17 overs before rain stalled the knockout in the first 7.2 overs and were on course for 190 for victory.
Brook, two days after admitting he had lied about a scuffle with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand “to protect a teammate”, hit a 12-ball 36 with four sixes, while Banton (54 off 33) hit seven boundaries and likely booked his place in the T20 World Cup XI as England reached the target with two balls remaining thanks to top scorer Sam Curran (14 off 20).
Tom Bunton tops-scored for England with 54 not out from 33 balls.
Sri Lanka had Eshan Malinga injured his shoulder in the first over of the restart and the seamer was not seen again as the visitors smashed his teammates around the park, needing 111 off 58 balls once play resumed.
England won their rain-affected opening match on Friday and their aim now is to win the third and final T20 match, also at Palekele, on Tuesday with an emphatic 3-0 victory and begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Nepal in Mumbai on Sunday, February 8.
England’s pacers give chase but spinners take center stage
Sri Lanka, who are co-hosting the T20 World Cup with India, scored 189-5 against England, scoring a total of 103 runs in eight overs with the seams of Curran (0-31 in 2 overs), Jofra Archer (4-2-42) and Jamie Overton (0-30 in 2 overs).
Adil Rashid and his fellow English spinners keep Sri Lanka pinned to Palekele
The hosts found it much tougher against spin with Will Jacks (1-25), Adil Rashid (1-24) and Liam Dawson (1-32) all taking their full four-over allocation.
Pavan Rathnayake (40 from 22 matches) – left out of the opening T20 despite a century in the last one-day international between the two teams last week – top-scored after being dropped for 12 by Banton.
Five of Sri Lanka’s top six players cantered over 20 points, significantly outperforming the run-a-ball. The only exception was skipper Dasun Shanaka (1 point), who lost weight trying to hack Rashid across the line, but Rathnayake was the only one to score above 30 points.
Sri Lanka’s Pavan Rathnayake hit 40 off 22 balls, including six boundaries.
Kusal Mendis (32 points from 17) followed openers Pathum Nissanka (34 from 22) and Kamil Mishara (36 from 30) who fell after a quick start. With England’s pacers in hot pursuit, Nissanka and Mishara scored 56 for the first wicket in the powerplay.
Charis Asaranka hit 28 off 22 balls after being glassed by Banton in a deep square in the final over, but the batsman also received a reprieve after Phil Salt failed to keep a nice diving glove offside in the 11th innings of the 17th at bat.
England finish the job with modified pursuit
After Buttler sucked back-to-back boundaries, Salt sliced Matisha Pathirana (2-47) to slip in in the first over of the chase, while Jacob Bethel (13 off 11) – who was in the news after the Brooke bouncer incident – got past Shanaka (1-24) in the fifth over.
England’s Phil Salt was absent on Sunday
When the heavens opened, Banton came close to coming to terms with Buttler, reversing a brilliant six-over backward point early on and continuing his good form after the rain stopped.
The Somerset man is probably only playing due to Ben Duckett’s finger injury, but has given England an opportunity to reflect ahead of their World Cup campaign. The World Cup can be watched live on Sky Sports.
Banton and Curran wrapped up the innings after Buttler was poached at the deep covers of Danis Wellerage (1-30) and Brook scooped Pathirana to deep following a short but brilliant knock.
Brook happy ahead of T20 World Cup
England captain Harry Brook:
“I thought we played outstanding. We adapted to the conditions very well with our bats and it was great to get over the line and win the series. The more time we get out in the middle, the better we will be heading into the World Cup.”
“Banton played great and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. We had enough batting and we backed ourselves up to be able to go after it at any time.”
England captain Harry Brook hit four sixes and two quads in the second T20.
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)
