England stagger to 146‑9 at the end of their 20 overs as they failed to build any sustained partnerships.

This might just be well short of a truly competitive total but they will hope the pitch does them some favours when they come out to bowl.

Brief score: 
England 146/9 in 2o overs [Phil Salt 62, Harry Brook 14, Sam Curran 11,Will Jacks 21, Jamie Overton 10*; Dilshan Madushanka 2-25, Dunith Wellalage 3-26, Maheesh Theekshana 2-21, Dushmantha Chameera 1-34] vs England

Advisory for Heavy Rain Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre  at 08.30 a.m. on 22 February 2026 valid for the period until 08.30 a.m. 23 February 2026

Due to the influence of the low level atmospheric disturbance in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, Heavy showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in Central, Uva, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern and North-central provinces and in Galle and Matara districts.

Therefore, general public is advised to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by heavy rain, strong winds and lightning during thundershowers

Sri Lanka have opted to chase against England at Pallekele, hoping to replicate their dominance victory over Australia here to kickstart their Super Eight campaign.

It was six days ago that Pathum Nissanka’s unbeaten 100 saw the hosts chase down Australia’s total of 181 with eight wickets and two overs to spare. And with home skipper Dasun Shanaka is looking to utilise that confidence in this Group 2 encounter.

“We’ve been chasing well in the past few occasions and happy to chase again,” said Shanaka at the toss. “The boys are very confident playing here.”

England skipper Harry Brook – on his 27th birthday – again called for bravery after his side stumbled into the second stage of this tournament. The two-time champions have gone in with an unchanged team for the fourth match in a row, with Jamie Overton retaining his place as the allrounder. Brook’s only slight worry is a cut to Jacob Bethell’s bowling hand (sustained during the match against West Indies), which is likely to prevent him from bowling due to the strapping on his finger.

Sri Lanka meanwhile make two changes to their XI, with Dushmantha Chameera returning in place of Pramod Madushan, having been rested for the defeat to Zimbabwe. Kamil Mishra comes back in for the man who replaced him, Kusal Perrera, as the hosts shuffle once more in an attempt to find a functional opening partnership.

These two squads know each other very well, having only concluded a three-match T20I series against one another at the start of the month, which took place entirely in Pallekele. England secured a 3-0 scoreline, capping things off with a professional 12run win in a low scoring encounter.

As for the outfield, both sides are primed for a different evening of ground-fielding on patchy grass. Heavy rains have punctuated the five das leading into this clash. Overnight precipitation has sodden the edges of the field, though the middle parts of the ground had been well-covered.