🏏ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026: Super 8 - M42: England vs Sri Lanka🏏 - Page 4

Harry Brook: We would have bowled first as well.

Dasun Shanaka: We are gonna bowl first. Happy to chase. Very happy and confident. Boys are confident to play here. Couple of changes. Chameera and Mishara come in.

Sri Lanka have won the toss and have opted to field

Teams:

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis(w), Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka(c), Dunith Wellalage, Dushan Hemantha, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka

England (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook(c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid

Harry Brook: We would have bowled first as well. We had an amazing series here against them. Looking forward to the challenge. We'll see how it plays and try to adapt as soon as possible. Same team.

Dasun Shanaka: We are gonna bowl first. Happy to chase. Very happy and confident. Boys are confident to play here. Couple of changes. Chameera and Mishara come in.

Sri Lanka have won the toss and have opted to field

Dunith Wellalage to Jos Buttler, 1 run, 94.8kph, wide of the crease, darted in towards middle-leg, Buttler goes on the back foot to work it to deep midwicket.

Eng-- 11/0 after 1.3 overs.

Dunith Wellalage to Phil Salt, SIX, 82.7kph, flighted delivery, fullish length outside off, Salt clears his front leg to muscle it over wide long-off. Not quite off the middle of the bat but he's struck hard to collect the first six of the match

Josh bhai gone

Josh ka form IPL mein wapis aayega

Wellalage got Buttler’s wicket.

Jos Buttler vs Spin since 2025 (T20Is)

Inngs: 17

Runs: 227

Balls: 165

Dismissals: 13

Avg: 17.46

SR: 137.6

Dot%: 30.5

Scores this WC: 26, 21, 3, 3, 7

Md. Assaduzzman Manik: Based purely on current form and on-field performance in this World Cup, I’m placing Sri Lanka ahead of England without hesitation. In my grading system, Sri Lanka stand at a strong 7 out of 10, while England trail slightly at 6 out of 10. And let me say this clearly: Sri Lanka are winning today

A cautious start from England: A flat pitch in Pallekele, but there has been plenty of rain around and the pitch was under covers until this afternoon. Expect England to make more than 45 for the loss of two wickets in the batting PP.

England have dominated Sri Lanka in T20Is, winning 13 of their 17 meetings, including the last 11 in a row. They also whitewashed Sri Lanka 3-0 at this venue before the tournament. In the T20 World Cups, England leads the head-to-head 5-1.

Tom Banton:

(Takeaways from the gorup stage) Yeah, I think there was a lot of noise around we probably haven't quite hit our straps yet. But look, that's cricket for you sometimes, and we've qualified. That was the main thing, and we've got through to the Super 8s. We had a tour here just before the World Cup, so we had success here. So I think we kind of have a good understanding of how the conditions are going to play out. We're really looking forward to today.

(On the bature of the pitch in the T20I series before the World Cup) I think the wicket changed throughout the series. I think, obviously, the last T20, it started to spin quite a lot. And it was, obviously, a great win for us in the last game. But I think just trying to adapt, that's something we spoke about, and just trying to communicate that between the dressing room. In Kolkata, the wicket was really good. Yeah, pretty flat wicket, I'd say. And then here, it might be slightly bit different. And Mumbai was different as well. So yeah, just trying to adapt is the biggest word. And yeah, hopefully we can win today.

(On captain wanting England to braver) Those group games we had, they're a little bit unknown of kind of how the other teams are going to play. And look, we've got through that and that was the main thing. And we're here now, and look, we've got a good understanding of what these next three games will look like. It's exciting. This is probably one of the main bits of the World Cup now. It's going to be a busy few days and hopefully we can get three wins.

England’s opening stand this WC

5 vs NEP

38 vs WI

2 vs SCO

21 vs ITA

16 vs SL

82 runs at an average of 16.4, RR: 7.93

Only India has a lower average for the opening stand than England among Super 8 teams in this tournament.

Drinks are on the field now. England in a spot of bother here in Pallekele, thanks to disciplined bowling from the Lankans. Leg slip in place

ENG 35-2 after 5.4 overs

Thanks for the tag Madhu.

May the best team win.

Cheers..