Kolkata: Take it deep, that was Dasun Shanaka’s brief to his batters. This instruction wasn’t without reason. Less than a month ago, also at Pallekele, England needed just 128 to beat Sri Lanka by 12 runs. This time, they had 146/9, after being 94/5 in the 14th over.
Having let them off once, Sri Lanka had to get their chase right. But it went awry from the word go. Puzzling shot selection, miscued shots, and hit wicket — Sri Lanka’s batting was a glaring parade of errors made worse by England’s fielding.
This is England’s 12th successive win against Sri Lanka in T20Is. More significantly, this 51-run defeat not only pushes Sri Lanka to the bottom of the table but also leaves them with a net run rate of -2.55, which could be very challenging to overcome in the next two matches against Pakistan and New Zealand. And they only have themselves to blame for this catastrophic result.
Will Jacks was at the heart of this capitulation, but with the ball. Kusal Mendis departed to a return catch after Jacks’ overspin stuck to the pitch and induced a mistimed push. Pavan Rathanayake was then dismissed for a duck with Jacks getting a leading edge. Dunith Wellalage was the fifth wicket to fall within the powerplay, his bat turned in his hand while attempting a heave across the line not even clearing Harry Brook at mid-on.
England getting a few overs of spin from non-regular bowlers isn’t a new ploy. But Jacks getting purchase from the pitch while not conceding many (he finished with 3/22) points to a deeper, more solid tactic England have been trying to expand on. After a topsy turvy league phase, England couldn’t have found their stride at a better juncture.
“I love getting that responsibility with the ball,” said Jacks after the match. “I think it encourages me to get into the game and perform better. I think I like that responsibility and bowling in the powerplay is something I’ve done a lot, So it’s not foreign to me. And when we get on a surface like that, I come into the game knowing what I need to do.”
So did Jofra Archer. Bookending those blows from Jacks were two vital wickets from Archer that left Sri Lanka reeling. It looked like Kamil Mishara’s dismissal was plotted better. Watching him back away to heave through the on side, Archer sent Jamie Overton to wide gully and surprised Mishara with a quick, fuller delivery. Given no width at all, Mishara was almost forced to stab the ball at Overton.
What knocked the wind out of Sri Lanka’s sails though was the dismissal of Pathum Nissanka, who had scored a century against Australia at the same venue during a group game. Archer was fast again, clocking 150 kph, inducing him into flicking it but straight to Overton at deep mid-wicket.
The hosts could have still been in the game. But Jacks put paid to that as well when he got rid of Shanaka—who top-scored with 30—with a brilliant relay catch while running back and tossing the ball back to Tom Banton.
The highest stand was only worth 18 as Liam Dawson (2/27) and Adil Rashid (2/13) ensured Sri Lanka never got a chance to catch their breath. Neither did the batters connect their shots nor did they farm the strike enough to force England to do something different. The lowest point was probably the dismissal of Dushan Hemantha—knocking over the bails with his bat after copping a blow on his body from Overton.
The spectacular batting implosion completely swept aside memories of the highs Sri Lanka had achieved after deciding to bowl first. After all it was a tried and tested tactic, with Australia being at the receiving end of it not so long ago.
They still set Sri Lanka 182 to win. England were, by all means, at a worse stage with the score reading 68/4 at the halfway mark. Jacks then scored 21 off 14, which considering the tackiness of the pitch, proved to be worth more. Wellalage’s (3/26) left arm orthodox was hard to score off, apart from causing the dismissals of Brook, Jos Buttler and Phil Salt.
It was Salt’s innings, though, that proved to be the difference, the opener adapted beautifully to the track to score 62 off 40 and steer England to a winning score.
“Not the fluent Phil Salt that everybody knows,” said Brook at the post-match presentation. “But he managed to get us to a very good score there and a couple of partnerships at the end as well. It was a hell of a performance.”
