England Rout Sri Lanka For 95 To Win Super Eights Opener

England routed Sri Lanka for 95 to give captain Harry Brook a perfect birthday present as they opened the T20 World Cup Super Eights phase with a resounding 51-run win in Kandy on Sunday.

After England were asked to bat first and scored what looked like a below-par 146 for nine, Jofra Archer and Will Jacks took five wickets during the six-over power play to leave Sri Lanka’s top order in tatters at 34 for five.

“That’s a beautiful birthday present,” said Brook, who turned 27 on Sunday.

“I thought we played exceptionally there. To get over the line and bowl them out for less than 100 is an awesome effort.

“I didn’t think there were really any demons on the pitch. I think the spinners on both sides used the pace really well, and that’s what brought a lot of wickets.”

It was England’s 12th win in a row against Sri Lanka and on a pitch that was sticky and slow after rain all week in Kandy.

Supersport reports that the margin of victory gives them a healthy net run rate advantage in a Super Eights group that could be further affected by weather, after the New Zealand-Pakistan match was washed out on Saturday in Colombo.

“We’re buzzing with that,” said Jacks, who was named player of the match for the third time in five matches in the tournament.

“At the halfway stage, we were pleased to get up to 146, but obviously we knew we were going to have to bowl well and work hard.”

The searing pace of Jofra Archer accounted for both openers, including the in-form Pathum Nissanka (9), who had scored a century and 62 in his last two knocks but failed to clear Jamie Overton at deep mid-wicket.

Archer finished with 2-20 and Jacks 3-22, the latter accounting for Kusal Mendis (4) and Pavan Rathnayake (0) in consecutive balls.