Alice Capsey top-scored with 51 from 27 balls and Mahika Gaur bagged a wicket on debut as England beat Sri Lanka by 12 runs on DLS in a rain-affected first T20 international at Hove.
England thumped 186-4 from their reduced 17 overs after being inserted, with Capsey completing a 26-ball fifty – her third in T20I cricket – in an over in which she smashed three sixes.
Sri Lanka were wayward with the ball, giving up 20 extras including 15 wides, and sluggish in the field as Danni Wyatt made 48 from 30 deliveries and England smoked six sixes and 18 fours on total.
The tourists were 23-0 after 3.1 overs when the rain that delayed the start of the game by an hour returned and when the players headed back out the the requirement was cut to 68 from six overs.
Left-arm seamer Gaur, 17, had Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu caught behind for 15 and off-spinner Charlie Dean pinned Hasini Perera lbw for a duck as the visitors ended on 55-3, with Kate Cross’ 17-run final over only narrowing the margin of Sri Lanka’s defeat.
The second game in the three-match series takes place at Chelmsford on Saturday before the final fixture in Derby next Wednesday precedes a three-match one-day international series.
England smash Sri Lanka after being put in to bat
Wyatt and Maia Bouchier (22 off 18) – the latter opening in the absence of the rested Sophia Dunkley – put on 77 for the first wicket inside seven overs, while Capsey and skipper Heather Knight (23no off 17) blasted 56 in four overs against the ragged tourists.
Freya Kemp (20 off 10) contributed, too, as Udeshika Prabodhani (0-53 from four overs) and Sugandika Kumari (0-34 from two) registered eye-watering bowling figures.
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Kavisha Dilhari brilliantly ran out Maia Bouchier off her own bowling in the T20 opener
One moment for Sri Lanka to savour was the run out of Bouchier, which off-spinner Kavisha Dilhari secured off her own bowling.
Dilhari leapt to her right to collect the ball and then shot down the stumps at the non-striker’s end with just one pole to aim at – but there was little else for the away side to cheer.
Gaur strikes on England debut
England handed a maiden appearance to fast bowler Gaur, with the youngster – who made her international debut for UAE at the age of 12 – given her cap by Cross ahead of the game.
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England debutant Mahika Gaur talks to Sky Sports about The Hundred, bowling – and playing badminton
Gaur hoped to have Vishmi Gunaratne (17no) caught down the leg-side in her first over before the rain beak but skipper Knight’s review showed no bat was involved, meaning the pacer had to wait until the restart to bag her first England wicket.
Cross returned to England’s T20I bowling attack for the first time since December 2019 with fellow seamer Lauren Bell missing the first two games of the series due to illness.
Cross (0-22) was crunched for three successive fours by Nilakshi de Silva (18no off 8) in the sixth and final over of the chase but that did not alter the result, with Nilakshi run out off the last ball.
What’s next?
Saturday 2nd September 2:00pm
Friday 1st September 5:30pm
England’s three-game T20 international series against Sri Lanka continues at Chelmsford on Saturday and then concludes in Derby next Wednesday, with both games live on Sky Sports.
England’s men’s side are back in action against New Zealand on Friday with the second of four T20 internationals. The game at Emirates Old Trafford is live on Sky Sports with build-up from 5.30pm ahead of the first ball at 6pm. The series then continues at Edgbaston on Sunday before finishing at Trent Bridge next Tuesday.
Watch the second T20 international between England and Sri Lanka live on Sky Sports Cricket from 2pm on Saturday (6.30pm first ball). Stream with NOW for £26 a month for 12 months.