Harry Brook produced the headline act with his second T20I century, his unbeaten 114 coming off 49 balls while Jos Buttler slammed a 44-ball 80 as the duo rendered Sri Lanka’s bowlers clueless to help England go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
Of the 90 runs that England plundered in the Powerplay, as many as 30 came in the fifth over bowled by Dunith Wellalage. The partnership was ultimately broken by Wanindu Hasaranga, who had Buttler holing out to sweeper cover. However, there was none stopping Brook, who had earlier got to a 20-ball half-century.
Then, a dual-strike from Sonnie Baker in the final Powerplay over ripped the wheels off the Lankan chase. It was a procession thereafter, even as Wellalage delayed the inevitable with a 33-run blitz.
Brief Scores: England 254/4 in 20 overs (Harry Brook 114*, Jos Buttler 80, Will Jacks 21; Wanindu Hasaranga 1-34) beat Sri Lanka 135 all out in 19 overs (Dunith Wellalage 33; Sonny Baker 3-12, Jamie Overton 2-20, Liam Dawson 2-23) by 119 runs.
