England bowlers crush Sri Lanka in T20 World Cup Super Eight opener

England bowlers crush Sri Lanka in T20 World Cup Super Eight openerThe 2022 champions demolish host nation Sri Lanka for just 95 runs to win in Pallekele.Published On 22 Feb 2026Will Jacks has impressed with bat and ball to rescue England from a poor start and help them to a 51-run victory ⁠over Sri Lanka in a low-scoring Super Eight match at the Twenty20 World Cup.Tournament cohosts Sri Lanka appeared to be well set on Sunday after restricting England to a below-par 146-9 ⁠in the Group 2 match at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4UEFA and FIFA may get a red card at the ICC for ignoring Israeli violationslist 2 of 4Ryan Garcia defeats Mario Barrios to win WBC welterweight titlelist 3 of 4Strickland snaps Hernandez’s win streak with TKO victory at UFC Fight Nightlist 4 of 4LAFC shut out Messi, Inter Miami in MLS season openerend of listJacks, who made 21 useful runs down the order, returned to claim 3-22 as England bowled out Sri Lanka for 95 inside 17 overs to prevail.“It encourages me to get into the game and perform better,” player of the match ‌Jacks said.“Bowling in the powerplay is something I’ve done a lot of, so it’s not foreign to me.”Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka elected to field after winning the toss and had reasons to feel vindicated as England slumped to 68-4 at the halfway mark of their innings.Jos Buttler’s 14-ball struggle ended when he was trapped LBW for seven after attempting a reverse shot against spinner Dunith Wellalage only to miss a ball that rapped him ⁠on the pad.Spinner Maheesh Theekshana dismissed the in-form Jacob Bethell for ⁠three, and Tom Banton perished in his pursuit of a risky single, beaten by Shanaka’s direct throw from mid-off.Harry Brook made 14 before Wellalage dismissed him LBW, a decision the England captain challenged but could not overturn.Phil Salt (62) ⁠raced to a 36-ball fifty but holed out in the 15th over to give Wellalage his third wicket of the match.Jacks added late ⁠runs, but England fell short of the 150 mark.England opener Phil Salt led all scorers with 62 runs [Ishara S Kodikara/AFP]Sri Lanka collapse in run chaseEngland needed a ⁠lion-hearted bowling effort and produced one to reduce Sri Lanka to 22-4 inside five overs.