England beat Sri Lanka by 26 runs at Sharjah. They have now won all four of their matches and boast of a net run rate of +3.183, and it will be take a near-miracle to knock them out at this stage.
Dasun Shanaka won the toss at Sharjah and asked England to bat as both the teams went with unchanged XIs. Having chased in all their previous matches, England found themselves in unfamiliar territory, and received an early setback when Shanaka brought Wanindu Hasaranga in the second over. Hasaranga dismissed Jason Roy for 9. Dawid Malan (6) followed, and Hasaranga trapped Jonny Bairstow leg-before for a golden duck.
England were 36/3 after the Powerplay. As Jos Buttler held one end up, Eoin Morgan walked in. As Maheesh Theekshana (4-0-13-0) kept the pressure on, England reached 47/3 after 10 overs.
They opened up in the 11th over, taking 12 off Lahiru Kumara. The boundaries started to be more frequent once Buttler reached his fifty, in 45 balls. After scoring 9 off his first 20 balls, he hit Kumara for a six. Buttler hit two more, and the momentum switched towards England.
England scored 80 runs in last 6 overs. Morgan's 36-ball 40 ended when he became Hasaranga’s third prey. Buttler was completed his maiden T20I hundred with a six over the square-leg boundary off the last ball of the innings. His 67-ball 101 included 6 fours and 6 sixes.
Sri Lanka then lost Pathum Nissanka, hero of their previous match, in the first over. Adil Rashid bowled the fourth and sixth overs to pick up two more wickets, and Sri Lanka reached 40/3 after the Powerplay. Unlike England, however, they kept losing wickets, as Avishka Fernando fell to Chris Jordan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa to Chris Woakes. Sri Lanka slumped to 76/5.
England's win looked a formality at that stage, but Hasaranga and Shanaka added 53 in 36 balls to keep their hopes alive. Then Roy caught Hasaranga (34) brilliantly in the boundary. The final blow came from Buttler, whose direct throw dismissed Shanaka for 26. Sri Lanka added just another seven more runs before being bowled out for 137.
Rashid, Jordan and Moeen Ali picked up two wickets each for England, who will be concerned about the injury of Tymal Mills, who left midway through his second over.
Brief scores: England 163/4 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 101; Wanindu Hasaranga 3-21) beat Sri Lanka 137 in 19 overs (Wanindu Hasaranga 34; Moeen Ali 2-15) by 26 runs. Player of the Match: Jos Buttler.