SL vs ENG Stats Preview- 1st T20I, England tour of Sri Lanka 2026

Sri Lanka vs England 1st T20I Stats Preview [Source: @OfficialSLC/x]

Sri Lanka and England cricket teams will be squaring off in the first T20I of their three-match series on Friday, January 30. The match will be hosted by the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy and the action will commence from 7:00 PM IST onwards.

SL vs ENG 1st T20I Match Preview, 2026

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka will be aiming to reverse their T20I fortunes ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup after failing to defeat Pakistan. Earlier this month, Sri Lanka levelled a bilateral T20I series at home. Back in November, the Sri Lanka cricket team suffered a crushing defeat in a T20I tri-series final against the hosts in Rawalpindi.

England

The England cricket team will enter the T20I series against Sri Lanka on a trail of successive series wins in New Zealand and Ireland over the last couple of months. In October late last year, England secured a 1-0 series win against New Zealand with a comprehensive result in Christchurch. A second-string English team also trounced Ireland 2-0 in Dublin.

Top run-scorers in SL vs ENG T20Is

We are considering only the players from the current squad.

Jos Buttler – 385 runs

Former England captain Jos Buttler has tallied 385 runs in just nine T20I innings against Sri Lanka at a prolific batting average of 77 and a strike rate of 145.83.

Dasun Shanaka – 120 runs

Among active Sri Lanka squad members, captain Dasun Shanaka has registered the highest number of T20I runs against England with 120 runs in eight innings.

Kusal Mendis – 94 runs

Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis has made 94 runs in six T20I innings against England at a strike rate of just over a 100.

Top wicket-takers in SL vs ENG T20Is

We are considering only the players from the current squad.

Adil Rashid – 10 wickets

Senior England spinner Adil Rashid has clipped 10 Sri Lanka wickets in just eight T20I innings at an impressive bowling average of 15.20.

Wanindu Hasaranga – 7 wickets

Sri Lanka spin wizard Wanindu Hasaranga has taken seven wickets in five T20I matches against England at an average of 16.85.

Dushmantha Chameera – 7 wickets

Sri Lanka fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera has picked up seven wickets against England in five T20I innings. The speedster claimed four of them in a single game to hold best-bowling figures of 4-17.

SL vs ENG key stats

Sri Lanka key records

Sri Lanka team has won three of their last five completed T20I matches.
Kusal Perera is the leading run-scorer in T20I matches played in Pallekele with 414 runs in 13 innings at a splendid average of 31.84.
Wanindu Hasaranga has taken 10 wickets at the Pallekele Stadium, the most among all active bowlers from both sides.
Pathum Nissanka has emerged as Sri Lanka’s most proficient T20I batter off late with 283 runs in 10 matches.
Dushmantha Chameera has taken 23 wickets in just 15 T20I matches for Sri Lanka since his return to the format last year.

England key records

England team has won seven of their last eight completed T20I matches.
England team has won four of its last six bilateral T20I series.
England team has not lost a single T20I match against Sri Lanka since 2014, winning eight matches in a row.
Phil Salt has aggregated 347 runs in his last seven T20I matches for England, the highest among all active English players.
Adil Rashid has proven himself to be England’s most successful bowler in recent times with 14 wickets in just eight matches.