Liam Livingstone’s unbeaten 26-ball 29 helped England beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in a rain-interrupted 2nd T20I at the Sophia Gardens, Kolkata. Eoin Morgan’s men have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series with the win.
Sri Lanka lost Danushka Gunathilaka (3) and Avishka Fernando (6) in opening four overs after opting to bat first. Kusal Perera (21 off 25) and Kusal Mendis (39 off 39) then shared a 50-run stand for the third wicket before the former fell to Adil Rashid (2-24).
Niroshan Dickwella (3), Dasun Shanaka (8) and Wanindu Hasaranga (3) all fell for single-digit scores. Barring Isuru Udana (19* off 14), no Sri Lankan batter had strike rates of excess of 100 as they struggled to reach 111/7 in 20 overs.
Bowling at express pace, Mark Wood returned 2-18 in four overs. Adil Rashid (2-24) and David Willey (4-0-17-0) were equally impressive, though the latter went wicketless.
Coming to defend, Sri Lanka responded valiantly in the first seven overs. England were left reeling at 36/4 at this point. However, the asking rate was never a worry, and Livingstone and Sam Billings (24 off 29) steadied the ship and recovered the England chase with a 54-run stand.
Persistent rain had stopped the contest for around 40 minutes and the umpires declared the revised target 103 off 18 overs. With two overs remaining, Sam Billings (16* off 8) then ensured the victory with a six over long on. Despite the defeat, Hasaranga returned impressive figures of 4-0-20-2.
Brief Scores
Sri Lanka 111/7 in 20 overs (Kusal Mendis 39; Mark Wood 2-18) lost to England 108/5 in 16.1 overs (Liam Livingstone 29*; Wanindu Hasaranga 2-20) by five wickets (DLS method) with 11 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Liam Livingstone.