England wins rain-hit 2nd T20 against Sri Lanka by 6 wickets to clinch series ahead of World Cup

By Canadian Press on February 1, 2026.

PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka (AP) — Tom Banton hit 54 not out off 33 balls and England won the second T20 against Sri Lanka by six wickets with two balls remaining under the DLS method on Sunday to clinch the series.

England has a 2-0 lead in the three-match series ahead of cricket’s T20 World Cup, which starts Saturday.

Banton hit three sixes and four fours as England successfully chased down the revised target of 168 in 17 overs. It finished with 173-4 in 16.4 overs. Jos Buttler scored 39 runs off 29 balls, with six fours.

Sri Lanka lost the toss and had earlier reached 189-5 in 20 overs, with Pavan Rathnayake top-scoring for his team with 40 off 22 balls.

A short burst of rain meant the game was reduced to 17 overs a side.

Sri Lanka was beaten by 11 runs in a rain-affected series opener on Friday, also at Pallekele. The final T20 will be played at the same venue on Tuesday.

Quick start for Sri Lanka

Pathum Nissanka scored 34 off 22 balls with two sixes and added 56 off 33 with Kamil Mishara (36) for the first wicket.

Jofra Archer (2-42) got the breakthrough in the sixth over, bowling Nissanka. Kusal Mendis then added another 50 off 33 balls for the second wicket with Mishara.

Mendis hit 32 off 17 deliveries, with four fours and a six, as Sri Lanka kept up a good scoring rate before losing three quick wickets.

Will Jacks had Mishara dismissed in the 11th over. Eight balls later, Liam Dawson sent back Mendis, while Adil Rashid trapped Dasun Shanaka lbw for 1 in the 14th over.

Rathnayake helped rescue the side from 131-4, sharing a stand of 56 runs off 36 balls with Charith Asalanka, who scored 28 not out off 22 balls and four fours.

England’s chase

It seemed a tough target for England, which had reached 57-2 in 7.2 overs — behind the DLS par score — when rain intervened.

Opener Phil Salt fell for 1, caught off Matheesha Pathirana (2-47), while Jacob Bethell was out for 13.

Rain and a wet outfield held up play for around 75 minutes before resuming with an adjusted target.

Buttler provided support to Banton, who powered his way to a half-century off 29 balls.

The duo added 43 off 28 deliveries before Buttler fell to Dunith Wellalage in the 10th over.

Banton added another 49 off only 20 balls with skipper Harry Brook (36), and then another rapid 43 off 25 with Sam Curran (20 not out off 14 balls) to win the match.

Brook smashed four sixes off 12 balls to bring the target within reach, before he was caught off Pathirana.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

The Associated Press