Pallekele, Feb 21 (IANS) Two-time champions, England, will play their first match in the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8s against the co-hosts, Sri Lanka, at the Pallekele International Stadium on Sunday.

England and Sri Lanka have been placed in group B in the Super 8s with 2009 champions Pakistan and New Zealand. Out of four teams, only two will proceed to the semi-final stage.

This will be only the 18th time England will face Sri Lanka in T20Is. Harry Brook’s team have an upper hand against Sri Lanka in the previous matches. England have come victorious on 13 occasions, while Sri Lanka have only won four matches.

England’s dominance extends to the T20 World Cup also. Both teams have played six World Cup matches against each other in which England have won five matches, while Sri Lanka have won only one match. Sri Lanka has not beaten England since the 2012 T20 World Cup, and they will look to end their 14-year wait when they face the 2010 and 2022 World Cup winners on Sunday.

England recently toured Sri Lanka for a white ball series, which included three ODIs and three T20Is. They first beat Sri Lanka by 2-1 in the 50-over match series and then clinched the T20I series by a margin of 3-0, which came as a big boost for the team.

Head-to-head record between England and Sri Lanka in T20Is

Total matches played: 17

England won: 13

Sri Lanka won: 4

Performance of both teams in their last 5 matches

England: W, W, L, W, W

Sri Lanka: L, W, W, W, L

Squads:

England: Harry Brook (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid,Phil Salt, Josh Tongue Luke Wood

Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka(c), Charith Asalanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Dushan Hemantha, Dilshan Madushanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Perera, Janith Liyanage, Pathum Nissanka, Pramod Madushan, Pavan Rathnayake, Maheesh Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage

–IANS

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