England defeated Sri Lanka by 11 runs in the first T20. Sam Curran created history by taking a hat-trick, Adil Rashid also bowled well. Batting first, Sri Lanka was reduced to 133 runs. England won this rain-affected match through DLS method.
England won the toss and decided to bowl first. Pathum Nissanka (23), Kushal Mendis (37) gave a good start to the hosts. The team’s second wicket in the form of Nissanka fell on the score of 76, this wicket fell on the first ball of the eighth over. After this the process of falling of wickets continued. Sam Curran took a hat-trick in the 16th over.
Sam Curran is the second English bowler to take a hat-trick.
Sam Curran got Sri Lankan captain Dusun Shanka caught out on the fourth ball of the 16th over. On the very next ball, he dismissed the new batsman Mahesh Theekshana. He took his first T20 hat-trick by bowling Mathisha Pathirana on the last ball of the over.
Sam Curran has become the second England bowler to take a hat-trick in T20 International cricket. Earlier, Chris Jordan had taken a hat-trick against America in 2024.
A T20I hat-trick for England is rarer than a sunny day in London, and Sam Curran just found one ☀️🎳
He becomes just the second English bowler to pick a T20I hat-trick 🔥
.
.
[Sam Curran, Wickets, Hat-trick, England, History, Sri Lanka, Fast Bowling] pic.twitter.com/Q88tv6S3AG
— FanCode (@FanCode) January 30, 2026
Adil Rashid received POTM Award
Sam Curran took a hat-trick, but he also proved to be very expensive. He spent 38 runs in 3 overs at an economy of 12.67. Joffra Archer did not get any wicket, but he was economical. He gave 22 runs in 3 overs. Jamie Overton and Liam Dawson took 2-2 wickets. Adil Rashid was the most economical and also took 3 wickets, giving only 19 runs in 4 overs. Rashid was chosen player of the match.

