Spinners Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks led the way in which as England beat Sri Lanka by 12 runs in a low-scoring match on Tuesday to brush their Twenty20 sequence 3-0 forward of the World Cup.
England posted a meagre 128 for 9 with the bat, its lowest complete in opposition to Sri Lanka within the format, as tempo bowler Dushmantha Chameera bagged a five-wicket haul, however all-rounders Jacks (3-14) and Bethell (4-11) produced their greatest bowling performances within the format to limit the host to 116.
“We’ve proven we are able to adapt to surfaces… the way in which the spinners bowled, 16 overs in opposition to Sri Lanka in their very own situations was an superior effort,” England captain Harry Brook stated.
SL vs ENG third T20I | FULL SCORECARD
Ben Duckett was dismissed for a golden duck by Chameera, and Bethell, Tom Banton and Brook fell cheaply, leaving England struggling at 34 for 4 within the sixth over.
Jos Buttler (25) was crushed by Maheesh Theekshana’s sharp flip off Kandy’s spin-friendly observe, which discovered the hole between the England opener’s bat and pad to hit the stumps.
Participant-of-the-match Sam Curran made a battling 58 to carry England to a decent complete, and Luke Wooden eliminated Kamil Mishara for a duck within the first over. The spinners then took over, with Liam Dawson getting Pathum Nissanka caught at cowl for 23
Adil Rashid bowled Pavan Rathnayake, earlier than Jacks labored by way of Sri Lanka’s center order, dismissing Kusal Mendis (26), Kamindu Mendis (14) and Janith Liyanage (17) to scale back Sri Lanka to 97 for six within the sixteenth over.
Bethell took three wickets within the 18th over, and with Sri Lanka needing 14 to win from the final over, Theekshana’s try and hit Bethell for six received him caught because the host was all out with three balls remaining.
“Nice win to be a part of, the way in which the boys stored preventing to the finish… the World Cup is right here, so when we’ve got the chance to play right here we’ve got the experiences to hold over,” Brook stated.
England, twice world champion within the format, will fly to Mumbai to start its T20 World Cup marketing campaign in opposition to Nepal in Group C on Sunday, the identical day Sri Lanka faces Eire at Colombo in Group B.
Printed on Feb 03, 2026