England v Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I: Sri Lanka 47/2 after six overs at Old Trafford
England and Sri Lanka met in the third Twenty20 international at Old Trafford, Manchester on September 19, 2026, with Sri Lanka 47 for 2 after six overs. Kamil Mishara and Lahiru Udara were among the early dismissals; Mishara was caught by Jamie Overton off Will Jacks and Udara was caught by Jos Buttler off Sonny Baker.
The Powerplay finished with Sri Lanka 47/2, with two wickets falling inside the first six overs. An opening stand worth 22 runs was broken by Sonny Baker’s dismissal of Lahiru Udara. Jofra Archer conceded 15 runs in his first over, and England used a mix of pace and spin early, introducing Will Jacks and later bringing Liam Dawson into the attack.
Pathum Nissanka supplied the main scoring threat, striking multiple sixes through the innings. He pulled a Baker delivery over square leg for six, lofted a Jofra Archer delivery over deep square leg for another six and executed a slog sweep off Liam Dawson into the stands for six. Nissanka also rotated the strike with singles and defended deliveries when required.
Kamil Mishara was trapped in the outfield after a miscued swing from Will Jacks; the ball went off the toe end and carried to long on where Jamie Overton completed the catch. Mishara had also been involved in a wide from Jacks earlier in his stay at the crease.
Sonny Baker removed Lahiru Udara with a short-pitched, angled delivery that produced a top edge to short fine leg, where Jos Buttler took the catch. That wicket ended the 22-run opening partnership for Sri Lanka and altered the early shape of the innings.
England’s fielding produced several saving moments: Harry Brook dived at mid-off to prevent a boundary, Aneurin Donald sprinted and dived to stop another ball, Jamie Overton got down on his knees to push a shot away from the fence, and Tom Banton failed to gather a chance cleanly that might have led to a direct-hit opportunity.
Bowling changes featured Will Jacks’ introduction and the removal of Will Archer in favour of spin as Liam Dawson came on. Sonny Baker delivered a ball recorded at 141 kph to Charith Asalanka during his spell, and England rotated their seamers and spinners through the early overs to probe the Sri Lankan batting.
Stephen Fleming was spotted on the balcony alongside Brendon McCullum and Tim Southee; Fleming is England’s newly appointed Test coach and will officially begin his role later this year during England’s tour of South Africa.
