Tom Banton stars as England beat Sri Lanka to seal T20I series 2-0
England wrapped up the T20I series against Sri Lanka with a game to spare after cruising to a six-wicket win in Cardiff. Tom Banton's unbeaten 52 off 24 balls finished the chase in style as England followed their 119-run win in Southampton with another thoroughly one-sided result.
Sri Lanka had made a promising start after being asked to bat, racing to 55 without loss inside five overs. However, Liam Dawson and Jamie Overton helped England pull the innings apart in the middle overs, with Sri Lanka eventually managing only 145 for 9.
Pathum Nissanka provided most of the early spark, scoring 37 from 21 balls in his first substantial innings since returning from wrist surgery. But once Dawson struck twice in the final Powerplay, Sri Lanka struggled to maintain the tempo and lost wickets regularly.
Dawson finished with 3 for 32, while Overton claimed 2 for 23 as Sri Lanka lost four wickets for just seven runs across the final three overs. Charith Asalanka's 31 and Wanindu Hasaranga's 27 offered some resistance, but England were always in control.
England's chase briefly looked interesting when Jos Buttler and Harry Brook fell inside the Powerplay, leaving them 79 for 3. Banton, however, took charge alongside the middle order and reached his fifth T20 half-century from just 24 balls to complete another comfortable chase.
England's top order had already made a statement in Southampton, but Cardiff belonged to Banton. The opener attacked from the outset and kept the required rate comfortably under control even after Buttler and Brook departed.
Buttler had earlier reached 30 and, in the process, moved to 15,000 runs in T20 cricket. Brook, meanwhile, made 23 to take his tally to 311 runs across his last four T20I innings, continuing his remarkable run despite falling relatively cheaply by his recent standards.
Banton eventually finished unbeaten on 52 from 24 balls, adding another brisk finishing performance to his growing collection. His innings ensured England reached 146 for 4 in only 12.1 overs, with 47 balls still remaining.SRI LANKA'S PROMISING START FADES
Nissanka was the bright spot in Sri Lanka's innings, showing the aggression that has made him one of their key batters. He attacked Jofra Archer early and became the only Sri Lankan batter to consistently exploit Cardiff's shorter straight boundaries.
But his dismissal for 37 triggered another collapse, with Sri Lanka unable to find enough momentum in the closing overs. Dawson's control, Overton's pressure and Adil Rashid's middle-overs spell left the visitors with too much ground to make up.
The result gave England their 10th win in their last 12 completed T20Is at Sophia Gardens and extended their record under Harry Brook to 22 victories from 25 completed matches.
England will now look to complete a series sweep when the two sides meet in the third T20I, while Sri Lanka will have one final opportunity to avoid a 3-0 defeat.- EndsPublished By: Debodinna ChakrabortyPublished On: Sep 18, 2026 08:38 IST
