Sri Lanka will aim to be more competitive when they meet England in the second T20 at Sophia Gardens.
Sri Lanka went down in the opener after appearing to be at sea against the moving ball up front.
England vs Sri Lanka | Thursday 24 June 2021 | Sophia Gardens, Cardiff | 19:30
To Win Match
England 1/6
Tie 25/1
Sri Lanka 17/4
England
England got little more out of the opening match of the series than 11 caps and a bit of a run out.
The hosts did a great job of seizing the initiative early and not surrendering it at all, thanks to the bowling of Chris Jordan, Sam Curran, Mark Wood and Adil Rashid.
Jos Buttler made quick work of a modest total which deprived most of the rest of the top order any time in the middle. Buttler and Jason Roy appear to be England’s best option to open in the T20I format.
England’s biggest enemy in this series will be complacency, as they might feel they are in a position to steamroll over Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka didn’t so much lose wickets in bunches in the first T20I as fail to get anywhere before their respective numbers came up.
The tourists looked like a side trying to warm-up for a competitive match, not a team well into a restarted season with the senior batsmen failing to assert themselves on the contest.
Sri Lanka played two frontline spinners in a tactic that might have paid off if they had put more runs on the board.
If they are to get back into the series, Sri Lanka will need to find a way to put England under pressure. It may help them to play another match straight away on the same surface but the challenge facing them is a monstrous one.
Verdict: England 1/6
The hosts should come out on top.
