Dasun Shanaka becomes Sri Lanka's top T20I six-hitter in England loss

England defeated Sri Lanka by 51 runs in their T20 World Cup Super Eights match. Captain Dasun Shanaka became Sri Lanka's all-time leading six-hitter in T20Is. Phil Salt's 62 and Will Jacks' all-round show sealed the win for England.

Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka broke the record of Kusal Mendis for hitting the most sixes in T20Is for Sri Lanka during their match against England in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 held in Pallekele on Sunday. In their first fixture of the Super Eights, England defeated Sri Lanka by 51 runs. The Harry Brook-led side registered their 12th straight victory over Sri Lanka in T20I cricket.

Shanaka's new T20I record

Shanaka hit a couple of sixes in his 30-run knock, which helped him overtake his teammate Mendis in the list of most T20I sixes for his national side. Now, Shanaka has 98 sixes under his name in the shortest format. Mendis has hit 97 sixes so far in T20Is.

England post 146/9

Asked to bat first, England made 146/9 in 20 overs with the help of Phil Salt's 62 off 40 balls, including six fours and a couple of sixes. Will Jacks (21 off 14 balls), Brook (14 off seven balls) and Sam Curran (11 off 11 balls) also contributed well to the total. For Sri Lanka, Dunith Wellalage was the top wicket-taker with three scalps. Maheesh Theekshana and Dilshan Madushanka took a couple of wickets each.

Sri Lanka falter in chase

While chasing the challenging target, Sri Lanka lost their top-five wickets inside the powerplay. Captain Dasun Shanaka (30 off 24 balls) tried his best to take his team past the line, but Adil Rashid dismissed him to dash the Lankan hopes. Kamindu Mendis (13 off 11 balls) and Wellalage (10 off 10 balls) were the only batters for Sri Lanka to score in double digits.

The co-hosts were bundled out for 95 runs, losing the match by 51 runs as Jofra Archer, Liam Dawson and Rashid shared two wickets each among them, with Jacks taking a three-fer. Will Jacks was named Player of the Match for his 'all-round' performance in the match.

241 runs were made during the match, which is the lowest match aggregate involving Sri Lanka and England in Men's T20 World Cups. Now, Sri Lanka will clash with New Zealand in Colombo on Wednesday, whereas England will take on Pakistan on Tuesday at the same venue.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)