Banton's brilliance guides England to 6-wicket win over Sri Lanka as Brook & co. take 2-0 unassailable lead

Pallekele [Sri Lanka] February 2 (ANI): England secured an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, chasing down a revised target of 169 in the rain-affected second T20I. The series win comes after England's 2-1 win against Sri Lanka in the ODI series earlier.
In a rain-interrupted match, Tom Banton's 33-ball 54 and Harry Brook's 12-ball 36, along with contributions from Jos Buttler and Sam Curran, proved to be the difference between the two sides as England defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets via the DLS method.
After a disappointing outing in the first T20I, Sri Lanka's batting unit showed significant improvement. After being put in to bat first, the hosts posted a formidable 189/5 in their allotted 20 overs.
The highlight of the innings was Pavan Rathnayake, whose rapid-fire 40 off just 22 balls injected late momentum into the innings. England's Jofra Archer emerged as the standout performer for the visitors with the ball, returning figures of 2/42 in 4 overs.
England's chase began on a shaky note as Phil Salt fell early to Matheesha Pathirana and Jacob Bethell followed soon, courtesy of Dasun Shanaka. However, the veteran Jos Buttler (39 off 29) and Tom Banton stabilised the ship with a 43-run partnership defined by calculated aggression.
Despite Buttler's wicket, Banton struck 54 off 33 balls, including four boundaries and three sixes. When Pathirana returned to remove Harry Brook (36 off 12), there was a flicker of hope for the home fans, but Sam Curran quickly extinguished it. Curran's finishing cameo of 20 runs off 14 balls sealed the win for the Three Lions with two balls to spare.
Sri Lanka and England will meet for the third match of the series on February 3, which will mark both sides' last T20I ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026. (ANI)