Teams Status
England
In the second T20I, England had an even smaller target to chase than they had in the first. But this time, largely due to rain, it took them some effort to get to victory. The target, however, was so low that even when D/L method shaved two overs off their innings, it still did not seem a scary task.
England were forced to make a change in the second match when Jos Buttler had to pull out due to a calf strain. Furthermore, Chris Woakes was dropped and David Willey brought back.
The bowling unit did pretty much as well as they were expected to, providing early breakthroughs and never letting the Lankans settle.
Willey, back in the playing eleven after two years, was pretty decent although he did not get a wicket, finishing with figures of 0-17 in his quota of four overs.
With the series now in the bag, expect England to experiment some more. Buttler, who missed the game, is unlikely to feature in the 3rd T20I as well.
Sri Lanka
The pitch and the conditions were not exactly easy but still the visitors should have scored a lot more than the measly 111-7 they managed. The Sri Lankan misery reflects in the fact that only two of their batters found boundaries on the night and three of them score in double figures.
It was a yet another no nothing performance with the bat, something that coach Mickey Arthur needs to resolve as soon as possible.
The positives came when the Lankans bowled and reduced England to 36-4 at one point. Unfortunately for them, this England side has a deep batting, and so even at such a troubling score, the hosts kept their calm. Then came a 54-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Liam Livingstone and Sam Billings. The duo took the game away from Sri Lanka, eventually earning a five-wicket win.
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