England chased 125 inside 10 overs in the third T20I to complete a clean sweep against Sri Lanka and claim the top spot in the ICC men’s T20I team rankings.
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.
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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.
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