England eves register ninth consecutive win, seal Sri Lanka T20I series

All-round England registered a ninth consecutive win after defeating Sri Lanka in the second T20I by eight wickets to seal the series with a game to spare.

Chasing a moderate target of 109 runs at the P Sara Oval, England had a fantastic start as openers Danielle Wyatt and Amy Jones smashed back-to-back boundaries to form a 79-run stand before Wyatt got stumped for 37.

By the time their attacking batter was dismissed, England had already formed a solid foundation towards taking an unassailable lead. Sri Lanka tried its best to change the fate as off-spinner Shashikala Siriwardene struck Jones, who gave a catch to Oshadi Ranasinghe for 36.

However, Tamsin Beaumont (16*) and Natalie Sciver (10*) in the middle completed the formalities and took England over the line in 13.5 overs.

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Atapattu attempted to produce a decent start for her side after opting to bat. The left-hander batter smashed four boundaries in her 30-ball 24 before getting bowled by Sciver.

Imalka Mendis (15) and Siriwardene (15) in the middle could not tick the scoreboard much and were dismissed in quick succession.

The departure of Siriwardene marked the first international wicket for Sophia Dunkley, who became the first leg-spinner to take the wicket for England since retired former captain Charlotte Edwards in January 2011.

Fast bowler Katherine Brunt did not let any new batter settle in and rattled the lower-middle order, picking up two wickets along the way.

Nilakshi de Silva (4*) and Umesha Thimashini (4*) helped Sri Lanka reach the 100-run mark and posted 108 for the loss of six.

Having won the series already 2-0, England will aim to clinch their 10th successive game and hand a whitewash to Sri Lanka in the third T20I on March 28 in Colombo.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 108/6 (AC Jayangani 24, KH Brunt 2-31) lost to England 109/2 (DN Wyatt 37, AE Jones 36, HASD Siriwardene 2-26) by eight wickets.