It was a thriller on a Pallekele turner, the game going England’s way. Jacob Bethell’s part-timers turned lethal, his three-wicket over dismantling Sri Lanka’s tail to help secure a 12-run win in the third and final Twenty20 international.
The tourists put up just 128, their total built by Sam Curran’s 48‑ball 58, a score to which no one else came close. But it proved enough on a worn surface as England’s raft of spinners went to work. And while Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson are the veteran frontliners, this night belonged to Bethell and Will Jacks. The left-armer finished with four for 11, the offie with three for 14 off the full allotment.
Bethell completed the job as a surprise death bowler, three strikes in the 18th over followed by the final blow in the 20th, Maheesh Theekshana’s slog producing a looping edge to short third. England will enter the World Cup with a clean-sweep victory and five consecutive white-ball wins.
Dasun Shanaka’s side will begin their campaign with 10 wins in 23 T20s since the start of 2025, a sense of dysfunction hanging over them. Kamindu Mendis, initially omitted from the squad for these T20s, was included at No 5 for the final match of the series. Dhananjaya de Silva, who had batted there on Friday, was missing from their final World Cup squad announced on Monday.
Ben Duckett was a late inclusion for Phil Salt, who sustained a back spasm in the warm-up, and Harry Brook’s decision to bat first meant an early entry for the left-hander. This was his first T20 international since June. He was rested for the series against South Africa and New Zealand, and missed the start of this one with a bruised finger, Salt and Jos Buttler re‑establishing their thumping opening partnership in his absence. After all that waiting, though, Duckett lasted one ball, Dushmantha Chameera’s nip‑backer proving fatal. It was the first of six single‑figure dismissals in the England innings.
Matheesha Pathirana, bound to thrive at the upcoming tournament, was a particular thrill to watch early on, his low‑arm heat removing Bethell and Brook inside the powerplay. Brook had tucked into the fast bowler two nights previous for three sixes but here he fell to a setup. An 88mph delivery zipped past the nose before a cutter got stuck in the surface – Brook’s prod led to a simple grab at short extra cover. Tom Banton was undone by Dunith Wellalage’s loop, Buttler by Theekshana’s turn. Chameera was excellent, clocking that his legcutter was the way to go, bringing him a five‑wicket haul. His dismissal of Jacks left England 60 for six.
Chameera accounted for Curran, too, but only after the all-rounder had given England something to believe in. Entering at 34 for four, he pulled the drag-downs hard and opened up at the close. He used his early arrival to advance to his second T20 international half-century.
Luke Wood struck in the first over before Pathum Nissanka’s brief fireworks, Sri Lanka finishing their powerplay on 46 for two. The key question was how the hosts would tackle Rashid, the leg-spinner having been unpickable at certain points of the tour
. Rashid’s leg-break spun big but it was the googly that did for Pavan Rathnayake, trapped lbw on 13. Kusal Mendis, playing his 100th T20, top-edged a sweep off the very next delivery, bowled by Jacks, leaving Sri Lanka 62 for four in the 10th over. We had a game.
Kamindu and Janith Liyanage brought the required rate down to below six, with 39 required and six wickets in hand. But the economical Jacks skidded the ball on to end Kamindu’s innings, and had rhythm from around the wicket as England squeezed, Bethell’s left-arm spin joining in on the fun. Brook wasn’t going to turn back to pace.
“Sixteen overs of spin, to do that against a Sri Lankan team in their own country, is an awesome effort,” the England white-ball captain said at the post-match presentation. Liyanage swept to Bethell in the deep for Jacks’s third and Rashid’s tight six left 21 required from the last three overs.
Every run turned precious, a boundary to begin Bethell’s third over feeling seismic. But Buttler sprung into action with the next delivery, leaping in front of the stumps to take a low, desperate, one-handed grab. Chameera pushed forward moments later, the ball lobbing to Brook at cover. Shanaka shimmied down the pitch but the turn was too great, Buttler pulling off the stumping, England jubilant. There were no more twists to come.
