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ENGLAND 108/5 (16.1 OVERS)
- Sam Billings24 (29)
- Liam Livingstone*29 (26)
- Binura Fernando1/17 (3)
- Wanindu Hasaranga2/20 (4)
Scorer: Venkat Raghav | Commentator: Andrew Miller
Bo, that'll do for tonight. A bitty sort of contest, but England prevail in the end, and take the series 2-0 with a game to spare. From Miller, Alan, Venkat, Matt in Cardiff and the rest of the ESPNcricinfo team, good night!
Eoin Morgan: "Our bowling was right on point, both batting sides struggled to take aggressive options which is a shame, but it ended up being a tight game. Took risks and lost wickets, which is disappointing, but Liam showed the class he's shown for Lancashire and Sam for Kent. Juggling DLS, and being challenged by the Sri Lanka bowlers.
"DLS crept up on us, it was clear all morning. We were thankful we managed to reduce Sri Lanka so that it didn't jump up on us. Two big areas for us is fielding, you play on smaller grounds with high value on boundaries - out, or dropped catch and six - and our death bowling away from home is an area to improve on."
Sampath has the killer stat: "England-Sri Lanka match run rate of 6.05 is the fourth lowest in a completed T20I hosted by England, and the worst in nearly ten years." What a spectacle for the free-to-air masses!
J I Pearce: "England needed to be put under pressure and reminded that it's not always possible to score 10 RPO on a used pitch. This will be great for England going forwards." Very true. Finding a way is every bit as important as winning it your way.
Mickey Arthur: "Not enough runs, they are a No.1 ranked bowling attack, we're ranked No.9 and you can see the difference, for us it's about learning from every game, every experience and getting better as we go along.
"We are consistently talking about freedom and taking the handbrake off but you can only bat as well as you are allowed to. We can be more proactive, try and do different things, but we are learning all the time. We bowled really well, and the fielding has gone up another level. Excited by the bowling unit, and our batters are excited in our own conditions. It's about transferring those skills to other environments."
Mark Wood: "I'll keep charging in and giving what I can. Junior kicking it on the stumps gave us great energy, CJ leads the bowlers from mid-off, and I keep whacking the wicket and make it as difficult as I could."
10.12pm Well, that was a curate's egg of a contest. England made a bit of a meal of an innocuous target, but won at a canter in the end, their huge batting depth ensuring that they could afford a wobble but still kept their foot to the floor. Curran was solid, but Liam Livingstone made the biggest strides among the batters, a nice red-inked 29 made a big difference in a low-scoring grind. Hasaranga was the pick of the bowlers, he confounded Sam Billings, whose 24 was an important hand too.
END OF OVER:16 | 9 Runs | ENG: 102/5 (1 run required from 12 balls, RR: 6.37, RRR: 0.50)
- Sam Curran10 (7b)
- Liam Livingstone29 (26b)
- Isuru Udana4-0-25-1
- Wanindu Hasaranga4-0-20-2
Isaac Marshall: "Also, Will Jacks get a call up? *See what I did there*" No? What?
Isaac Marshall: "I think it's becoming more well known that Hasaranga is only behind Rashid in world leggies (and not by loads) and he's far ahead of the 3rd best."
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