Phil Salt’s Gritty Half-Century Steers England To 51-Run Super Eights Win Over Sri Lanka At T20 World Cup 2026
A measured half-century from Phil Salt and a devastating three-wicket burst by Will Jacks in the PowerPlay handed England a commanding 51-run victory over Sri Lanka in their T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eight opener at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on Sunday.
Batting first after being inserted, England managed 146 for nine on a sluggish surface a total that proved more than sufficient as Sri Lanka crumbled to 95 all out in reply.
Salt Adapts, England Survive Early Wobble
Salt (62 off 40 balls; 6 fours, 2 sixes) was quick to signal his intent, hoisting Dunith Wellalage (3/26) over long off off just the third ball he faced. However, the England opener was forced to recalibrate after Jos Buttler miscued a reverse hit and was trapped lbw.
He found boundaries through the covers off Dilshan Madushanka, but close calls kept coming — Jacob Bethell’s mistimed hack to short third off Maheesh Theekshana served as another reminder to stay measured. Harry Brook and Sam Curran, unable to exercise the same discipline, perished soon after finding the boundary with ambitious strokes.
Salt largely rotated the strike by exploiting gaps in the outfield, though he could not resist a hook off Chameera over deep fine leg. Ultimately, the humid conditions sapped his energy, and a weary waft off Wellalage struck with stationary feet lobbed straight to Dushan Hemantha at long off to end his innings.
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Will Jacks, arriving at the crease by the 14th over, injected the late momentum England needed. He punched four boundaries over the covers before miscuing a low full toss from Madushanka to point in the 19th over, by which point the visitors had posted a defendable total.
Sri Lanka’s Chase Derailed Inside Six Overs
Sri Lanka’s reply never found its footing after the side lost five wickets for just 34 runs inside the PowerPlay. The in-form Pathum Nissanka departed first, flicking from outside off stump straight to the deep midwicket trap set by Jofra Archer.
Jacks (3/22) then caught Kusal Mendis off his own bowling, the batsman undone by the surface’s sluggishness as he offered a leading edge. Pavan Rathnayake fell first ball, swinging blindly across the line, while Dunith Wellalage repeated the same mistake as his teammates, holing out to mid-on attempting to clear Jacks.
Kamindu Mendis briefly offered Sri Lanka a lifeline, but he squandered it by gifting a return catch to Liam Dawson immediately after slog-sweeping him for a six, effectively ending the contest.
The chaos was best illustrated by Hemantha’s dismissal going for a pull off Jamie Overton, he dragged his bat onto the stumps, becoming the sixth batter in T20 World Cup history to be given out hit wicket.
Dasun Shanaka (30 off 24 balls; 1 four, 2 sixes) refused to surrender, smashing Jacks over midwicket and lofting Dawson down the ground. But with wickets falling steadily at the other end, he could only delay the inevitable as Sri Lanka fell well short of their target.