Dilshan Madushanka of Sri Lanka is bowled by Adil Rashid of England, at Pallekele Cricket Stadium on February 22, 2026 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. (Photo/Getty Images)

England began their Super Eight campaign in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 with a 51-run win over Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. The victory also marked a 12th successive T20I win for England against Sri Lanka.Speaking at the post-match presentation, Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said, “It’s very disappointing, but at the same time, we had a lot of positives with the ball. I think we kept them towards a total which was at least 20 runs under par. I expected my players to bat well. I think the pitch played well. Certainly, it was a bit slow in the first innings, but with the lights on, it settled a bit. We played badly. All the bowlers on our side bowled well.“Shanaka also set a new Sri Lanka record for most sixes in T20 internationals. His two sixes in a 30-run innings helped him move past teammate Kusal Mendis on the list.

On England’s bowling, he said, “It’s not that they bowled really well. We played some poor shots in critical intervals. In this World Cup, we have five main bowlers. I mean, including one rounder. So it is a nice attack to have, so I can restrict most of the sides to lower scores.”Asked to bat first, England posted 146 for nine in 20 overs, built around Phil Salt’s 62 from 40 balls, including six fours and two sixes. Will Jacks (21 off 14), Brook (14 off seven) and Sam Curran (11 off 11) also contributed.For Sri Lanka, Dunith Wellalage claimed three wickets, while Maheesh Theekshana and Dilshan Madushanka took two each.On the chase, Shanaka said, “The discussion was to take it deep during the chase. We have played a lot of cricket in these sorts of conditions; it was about taking it deep and taking the positive options and the right options, which we didn’t take. So, eventually it’s one bad game which is not affordable in a World Cup, but we need to bounce back in the next couple of games.”Sri Lanka lost their top five wickets inside the powerplay while chasing. Shanaka’s 30 from 24 balls kept them in the contest briefly before he was dismissed by Adil Rashid. Kamindu Mendis (13 off 11) and Wellalage (10 off 10) were the only other batters to reach double figures.The hosts were bowled out for 95. Jofra Archer, Liam Dawson and Rashid took two wickets each, while Jacks picked up three.When asked about the next game, Shanaka said, “As I mentioned, it’s the one bad game. The top four have done really well in the recent past, so I’m pretty sure that they will do well in the upcoming games.”Sri Lanka will next face New Zealand in Colombo on Wednesday, while England meet Pakistan at the same venue on Tuesday.