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England vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20I Full Commentary
Result · Sep 19 2026, Sat - 07:00 PM (IST)
ENG 126/2 (9.4)
SL 124/10 (18.5)
England beat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets
CRR:13.03
ప్లేయర్ ఆఫ్ ద మ్యాచ్
ప్లేయర్ ఆఫ్ ద సిరిస్
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Welcome back for England's reply. The two umpires and players make their way out to the middle. Jos Buttler and Aneurin Donald walk out to open the innings for England. Playing his first game of the series, Nuwan Thushara will get things underway with the new ball. Thushara to Buttler. Let's go...
... THE RUN CHASE ...
A chance to go top - Adil Rashid was uncharacteristically expensive in his 2 overs, but the other 5 options used by Harry Brook all picked up at least a wicket, while their efforts were backed up by some sharp work in the field. This does not seem like a chase that should trouble England, given what we have seen so far in the series. Sri Lanka, though, will need wickets in the Powerplay to have any chance. A win today would also help England dethrone India and move to the summit of the T20I rankings. Stay tuned as the chase is coming up shortly.
Sri Lanka fade away - It was a tale of batters getting themselves in but not managing to last long enough to make a significant impact on the innings. Up top, Pathum Nissanka got going but squandered the start, and later in the innings, Kamindu Mendis did something similar. Kamindu's 31-run stand with skipper Charith Asalanka was the biggest partnership of the Sri Lankan innings, and when the two were together, they had put Sri Lanka in a decent position to finish strongly. However, once that stand was broken, it all went downhill for the Islanders.
A job well done by England - Sri Lanka have not even managed to bat out the 20 overs after being in a decent position at the halfway mark. The Lankans lost their last 6 wickets for 41 runs to be bowled out for 124, falling well short of what could have been a good total on this surface.
OUT! TAKEN! Sonny Baker gets his second wicket and hammers the final nail into the coffin of the first innings. Sri Lanka have been bowled out for 124. Pitches it fuller, on the fourth stump. Dilshan Madushanka clears his front foot, trying to slog it across the line, but ends up getting the connection from the upper half of the bat. The ball loops up high toward mid off, where Harry Brook has to take a couple of steps to his front to scoop it near his chest.
Hard length, outside off, Dilshan Madushanka looks to cut it away, but chops it down the deck off an inside edge.
Back of a length, angling in, on off, Dilshan Madushanka defends it off his back foot.
Baker tries to offer a yorker but spills a low full toss, on middle. Dilshan Madushanka tries to push it back to the bowler, but ekes out an inside edge and gets thumped on the pad.
Huge appeal for LBW, but the umpire shakes his head as it is clearly going down the leg side. Overpitched, slanting in, on middle and leg, Dilshan Madushanka misses his flick and wears on the pad.
Just beats the off stump! Good-length delivery, with pace, just outside off. Nuwan Thushara makes room and tries to defend. The ball just glides past the off stump after beating the outside edge of the bat.
Nuwan Thushara is the last man in.
OUT! HIT WICKET! A bizarre dismissal. When it rains, it pours, quips Kumar Sangakkara, and that really sums up the Lankan innings. Pace taken off by Archer, on a good length. Hasaranga has a swipe across the line but he fails to pick the change of pace and is through his shot early, which results in him failing to make any connection. The follow-through of his bat goes ever so close to the stumps, and it ends up clipping the top of the woodwork when Wanindu sinks to a knee.
On a length, around off and middle. Wanindu Hasaranga heaves it from the inner part of his bat to deep square leg. He turns down the single.
FOUR! Oh, what a shot that is! Archer pitches it much fuller, on middle. Wanindu Hasaranga clears his front foot to drill it away toward the left of the mid on fielder and gets a crucial boundary.
The new batter is Dilshan Madushanka. It will be Wanindu Hasaranga on strike, though.
OUT! ESHAN MALINGA IS RUN OUT! Another one bites the dust. Angled in on a good length, on off. Malinga stays back and stabs it beside the strip on the off side before scampering through for a quick single. Archer can't get to the ball but Liam Dawson swoops in from a catching cover and picks the ball up cleanly. He opens up his body to be able to have a shy at the bowling end. He scores the direct hit with an underarm throw, with Eshan being well short.
At 135 kph, on a length, Hasaranga swings for the hills. The ball flies down to deep third off a thick outside edge. Adil Rashid sprints to his left and so nearly gets beaten by the spin. He overruns the ball but manages to stick out the right hand and make the stop. Just a single.
Short of a length, pitching it well outside off and shaping away. Eshan Malinga rocks back and tries to slap it over cover, but gets beaten on the outside edge.
Eshan Malinga walks out to bat.
OUT! DRAGGED ON! Jamie Overton has his first wicket. It is the off-cutter by Overton, angled across off from over the wicket, on a length. Ratnayake hangs deep in the crease and clears his front leg. He has a big heave across the line with his body weight on the back foot. The ball catches an inside edge and deflects back onto the stumps. Sri Lanka are now 7 down for 119.
Full and angled in at the pads. It was there for Hasaranga to cash in with fine leg up inside the circle. He opts to just nudge it towards square leg and pick up a single.
On a back of a length, on off. Ratnayake takes a step towards the leg side initially but manages to reach out. Slaps it to deep point and gets to the other end.
Pace on now at 136 kph, closer to the off stump. Ratnayake throws his hands at the ball but is beaten for pace.
Angled away, on a back of a length. Tharindu flashes at the ball but is undone by the off-cutter.
Pace off and on a shortish length, on middle. Ratnayake has a swipe at the ball. Ekes out an inside edge behind square leg for a run.
Dishes out the bumper, angled in on middle. Ratnayake sways away from the line of the ball but does not drop his wrists. No harm done, though.
Hits the top of off, does Archer. Hasaranga hangs back and taps it to the left of point. A bit of hesitation but they eventually go through for a single.
Takes pace off and it is on a short of a good length. Ratnayake hops away from the stumps as he moves towards the leg side. Adjusts to the length and the slowness of the ball by steering it down to deep third for one.
Attempts the yorker in line with the off pole. Ratnayake gets his bat down in time and keeps it out.
Signing off - After completing his chat with Michael Atherton, Harry Brook walks over to collect the trophy before joining his teammates for the photographs. It was not much of a contest between the two sides in this series, but Sri Lanka will hope to put up a better showing in the ODI leg. With the ODI World Cup coming up next year, the 50-over format carries greater significance at the moment, with teams across the globe beginning to build towards the tournament. The first of the three ODIs will be played at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday, 22nd September, with the first ball scheduled to be bowled at 11.30 am GMT. As always, you can join us early for the build-up. See you then. Cheers!
The captain of England - Harry Brook is the PLAYER OF THE SERIES for scoring 170 runs at a strike rate of 217.94, including an unbeaten 49-ball 114 in the first game. Brook also receives the award for T20I Player of the English Summer. Harry begins by expressing immense pride on behalf of his squad after securing the number one position in the ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings. Evaluating the collective team performance, the skipper praises the entire squad for stepping up throughout the series, giving special credit to the fringe players who delivered despite having limited game time leading into the matches. On Sonny Baker, the skipper applauds his performance and emphasises that he really set the tone for them, striking early by picking up crucial wickets during the Powerplay phase. Harry praises the rest of his bowling attack, noting that standard-bearers like Jofra Archer also performed exceptionally well throughout the series. Looking forward to future challenges, the skipper emphasises that the team's primary strength lies in their adaptability, specifically their capacity to quickly assess conditions and play a brand of cricket tailored to whatever the pitch demands. He finishes on a personal note, expressing his deep passion for representing his country and his desire to keep contributing on the international stage for as long as possible.
The captain of Sri Lanka - Charith Asalanka says it has been a very disappointing series for Sri Lanka across both games, particularly as they could not even post 150 in either match. He calls it an eye-opener for the team, showing them where they stand against some of the best sides in the world. Asalanka says it is now time for the group to get together, identify the problems and find solutions. Charith says losing captain Kusal Mendis to injury was a setback, but is hopeful of him joining the team for the ODI series. He adds that these are the best 15 players available at the moment and, as a team, they now need to put this series behind them and prepare for the ODIs. Asalanka stresses that next year's ODI World Cup is hugely important and says the talent is there, pointing out that Sri Lanka have played good ODI cricket. He feels the focus now has to be on getting the best out of the group and finding the right solutions ahead of the tournament.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH - Sonny Baker has been given the award for his impressive showing with the ball, returning figures of 2/17 from 3.5 overs. Baker says he is really happy with his performance, particularly after the ball swung a lot in the previous two games. He says there was not as much movement today, so adapting to the conditions was important. Baker jokes that it took him around 25 minutes to properly select the ball, but it did not affect his bowling, and being able to swing it both ways gave him that extra margin. On his biggest takeaway from the series, Baker says it has been about being himself. He admits it sounds like a cliche, but describes himself as a high-energy player and says allowing himself to show that has been a more accurate reflection of where he is at.
Time for the presentation ceremony...
Recap of the first innings - After being asked to bat first, Sri Lanka could never really get on top of England with the bat. Pathum Nissanka and Kamindu Mendis got out in the 30s, but the tourists needed much more from them. Sri Lanka faded away in the latter half, losing the last 6 wickets for 41 runs and failing to bat out the full 20 overs. The effort with the ball was tidy from the home side, who bowled to the conditions and backed it up with some sharp work in the field. Harry Brook rotated his bowlers well, and they did not disappoint, with contributions coming from across the board.
Over in a flash - 124 was never going to be enough against an England side that packs plenty of punch through the order. The chase was effectively put to bed in the Powerplay itself, with 57 runs coming in the last 3 overs of that phase. Harry Brook and Jos Buttler, two men who seem to be enjoying batting together at the moment, got down to business and made light work of the chase.
England complete the clean sweep - With this resounding win, England climb to the top of the T20I rankings. India and England have been switching places at the summit in recent times, and England now move back to No. 1 after wrapping up a 3-0 series victory. It was a win set up by the bowlers and finished in a canter by the batters. A15th straight defeat for Sri Lanka against England in this format, and they simply could not turn up across the three games. It has been a series to forget for the Lankans.
SIX! A biggie from Jos Buttler to finish things off in style. England beat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets and have extended their domination in the series with a clean sweep. Back of a length, outside off, from Eshan Malinga. Jos Buttler rocks back and pulls it away, but he ends up losing his bottom hand's grip while offering his shot. However, the ball carries on with the wind and loops over the deep square leg fence.
Pitches it fuller, on off and middle. Jos Buttler tucks it with soft hands into the vast gap between deep mid-wicket and long on for a brace.
SIX! Sent into the crowd, and that brings up a FIFTY for Jos Buttler on his home ground. Malinga digs it in short, on middle. The ball gets a bit big on Buttler, but he stands tall and unleashes the pull over deep mid-wicket for a biggie. Jos had an underwhelming T20 World Cup earlier in the year, but ever since the IPL, he has found his mojo back and carried that form through.
FOUR! Cleverly played. Malinga gets it very full, outside off. Buttler hangs low and reaches out with his hands. He opens the bat face of the blade and glides it past backward point. The ball skips across the turf and the deep third fielder stands no chance.
Short and around off, Buttler makes room and slaps it to deep cover for a single. England need 17 more runs.
End of an 85-run stand. Tom Banton walks out to bat.
OUT! HARRY BROOK IS RUN OUT! Good piece of work by Wanindu Hasaranga. Flatter trajectory yet again from Hasaranga, pitching it much fuller, on off and middle. Harry Brook jams it toward the leg side with soft hands to get a quick single, but Hasaranga seems ready as he swiftly charges on it, picks it up, and has a shy at the bowler's end on the turn. It hits the stumps directly, and Harry Brook is found short of the crease.
Flat and much fuller, on off, Harry Brook jams it to cover. There's a slight mix-up between the batters for the single, but they ended up not taking the risk.
Good-length delivery, on middle, Jos Buttler nudges it to mid-wicket for one.
Short, around off, Jos Buttler punches it to wide long on for a brace.
Full, on off, Harry Brook leans on it and flicks it to deep mid-wicket for one.
On a nagging length, around off and middle. Harry Brook nudges it to deep square leg for a single.
FIVE WIDES! It is all going from bad to worse for Dilshan Madushanka. Dilshan bashes the hard length but overcorrects the line, it is down leg. Brook fails to lay any bat on the pull. Kamil Mishara dives to his left but in vain as the ball flies past him. 14 runs off the over already. England need 23 more runs.
WIDE! Change of pace, on a good length, spaying wide outside off. Harry Brook leaves it alone.
Short, outside off, Jos Buttler nudges it to deep mid-wicket for one.
CHANCE GOES DOWN! Lack of communication between the two men. Just a yard behind the good length, angling it just outside off. Harry Brook looks to heave it away, but slices it off the splice of the blade. It loops toward the vacant backward point region, where Kamil Mishara and Pathum Nissanka both have a chance at it, but neither commits and leaves it for the other. The ball ends up dropping right between them and the batters pick up a single.
WIDE! Slower bouncer yet again, but sprays it beyond the tramline, outside off. Brook offers no shot at it.
Full toss, just outside off, Harry Brook opens his stance and spanks it to the right of deep cover for a brace.
NO BALL! Dilshan Madushanka has overstepped, and a Free Hit is coming up next. Slower bouncer, around off, Harry Brook lets it travel to the keeper.
Just a shade behind the good length, angling just outside off. Jos Buttler punches it to mid off, but Dasun Shanaka, who is standing a bit wide, runs to his right and stretches his hand to make a half-stop. Only a single taken.
Hard-length delivery, around the hips of the batter. Harry Brook pulls it with control to deep square leg for one.
Dilshan Madushanka is back.