Jos Buttler (68* in 55 balls) notched up his ninth T20I fifty in 20 innings as an opener to steer England to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first of the three-match T20I series at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.
Having made six changes from their last T20I, Sri Lanka opted to bat first. They took 17 balls to hit the first boundary, and went for 35 balls without another four or six after losing Danushka Gunathilaka (19 off 16) in the fifth over. Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva all departed cheaply, while Kusal Perera (30 off 26) failed to accelerate.
With his second T20I fifty, Dasun Shanaka (50 off 44) put up the only resistance for Sri Lanka. He smashed 25 off the final two overs, off Chris Jordan and Sam Curran, to take Sri Lanka to 129/7, never a challenging target for a full-strength England lineup.
Adil Rashid was the pick of the England bowlers, with figures of 4-0-17-2 on a ground with short boundaries. Chris Woakes (3-0-14-0), on his T20I return after six years, was economical as well. Curran (2-25) claimed two wickets in three overs, while Mark Wood (1-33), Jordan (1-29) and Liam Livingstone (1-9) all took a wicket each.
Chasing a puny 130, Buttler and Jason Roy (36 off 22) shared an 86-run opening stand in 55 balls before the latter fell to Dushmantha Chameera (1-24). Despite Dawid Malan’s (7) rare failure, England were always under control. Buttler then anchored the innings alongside Jonny Bairstow (13*) to reach the target with 17 balls to spare.
The two sides will meet once again at the same venue for the second T20I on 24 June.
Brief Scores
Sri Lanka 129/7 in 20 overs (Dasun Shanaka 50; Adil Rashid 2-17) lost to England 130/2 in 17.1 overs (Jos Buttler 68*; Dushmantha Chameera 1-24) by 8 wickets with 17 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Jos Buttler.