After England kept Sri Lanka down to a mere 124 in the third T20I, Jos Buttler and Harry Brook added 85 off 39 deliveries for the second wicket to take the hosts to the brink of victory. Earlier in the match, Sonny Baker, Jofra Archer and Will Jacks scalped two wickets each as Pathum Nissanka (36) and Kamindu Mendis (35) were the only batters to go past 20. 

The visitors were kept down to 145-9 in the second T20I as well, with Liam Dawson picking up three wickets. Tom Banton’s unbeaten 23-ball 52 steered England to victory to seal the series. Brook had starred in the first T20I with a dazzling 49-ball 114 not out, stitching a 128-run stand with Buttler to bat Sri Lanka out of the game. The visitors succumbed at 135 as Dunith Wellalage top-scored with a 21-ball 33. 

Also read: Bad light stalls county's promotion charge 23 runs short of a win

ICC men’s T20I team rankings: Updated table after England vs Sri Lanka T20Is

England overtook India to claim the top spot in the ICC men’s T20I team rankings on the back of a victory in the third T20I. Sri Lanka started the T20I series at the ninth spot with 221 rating points, but are now reduced to 220, just above Afghanistan (10th), who hold the same rating points. 

Position

Team

Matches

Points

Rating

1

England

41

11021

269

2

India

64

17201

269

3

Australia

38

9868

260

4

New Zealand

50

12348

247

5

South Africa

53

12881

243

6

Pakistan

57

13679

240

7

West Indies

56

13079

234

8

Bangladesh

53

11860

224

9

Sri Lanka

47

10334

220

10

Afghanistan

39

8565

220

11

Ireland

29

5942

205

12

Zimbabwe

59

11911

202

13

USA

20

3650

183

14

Netherlands

24

4311

180

15

Namibia

41

7358

179

16

Nepal

43

7699

179

17

Scotland

23

4116

179

18

United Arab Emirates

57

9961

175

19

Oman

43

6619

154

20

Canada

26

3864

149

Note: Rating is the ratio between points and matches. India’s rating comes to 268.76, whereas England now stand at 268.80, both of which are rounded off to 269.

Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.