Sri Lanka atoned for the only slip-up in their successful ICC World Twenty20 campaign by claiming a nine-run victory over England.
Alex Hales hit 116 not out in Chittagong back in March as England inflicted the eventual champions’ sole defeat of the tournament, reaching their 190-run target with four balls to spare.
And it was Hales who led by example for England once again on Tuesday in Peter Moores’ first encounter with a full member nation since re-assuming the national reins, but even his haul of 66 was not enough to chase down the visitors’ target of 184 at The Oval.
The tourists had Thisara Perera (49 off 25 balls) to thank for rescuing their waning innings, falling a run short of posting his country’s quickest T20 50, before Lasith Malinga (3-28) delivered with ball in hand as Sri Lanka saw out the match.
Harry Gurney (2-26) provided the bookends to the Sri Lankan innings from a wicket-taking perspective, and set the ball rolling by clattering the left-hand stump to oust Tillakaratne Dilshan (14) in the third over.
Ravi Bopara was on hand to catch when Kusal Perera (10) flicked Chris Jordan (1-43) straight to short fine leg five deliveries later, but it was more than six overs before the next wicket fell - Michael Carberry catching out Kithuruwan Vithanage (38), having dropped Lahiru Thirimanne a ball earlier.
And that drop proved costly as Thirimanne went on to rack up 40 runs from 56 deliveries.
The wickets of Dinesh Chandimal (seven) and Angelo Mathews (13) fell cheaply for the tourists, before Gurney showed great awareness to dismiss Perera with the final ball of the innings.
The Sri Lankan’s strike hurtled towards the stumps at the bowler’s end, unseating the bails, but Gurney had the wherewithal to remove a stump from the ground to deny Perera’s half century.
England’s chase did not get off to the best of starts as Carberry fell for just seven, but Hales showed indications that he could be a thorn in Sri Lanka’s side once again.
Ian Bell (13) and Joe Root (five) were caught out two overs apart, before Suranga Lakmal pulled off arguably the catch of the match to account for the dismissal of captain Eoin Morgan (five).
Jos Butler (26) provided Hales with his first chance to form a meaningful partnership, and the relief on the outstanding Malinga’s face in the 17th over was plain for all to see when his delivery claimed the wicket of England’s top scorer, who equalled Kevin Pietersen’s record for being the fastest to 1,000 T20 runs - doing so in 32 innings.
Bopara (28 not out) hit two boundaries in the final over as he threatened an unlikely comeback, but his efforts were too little too late as Sri Lanka clung on for victory - England finishing on 174-7.
