Alice Capsey and Danielle Wyatt gave England a 1-0 lead.

England Women’s three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka Women is currently leading 1-0 after blistering innings from Danielle Wyatt and Alice Capsey. In a game that was postponed due to weather, Sri Lanka lost by only 12 runs, although the DLS technique was mostly to blame.

Despite being forced to bat first after a weather delay, England dominated from the start. In spite of Maia Boucher being run out for 18, Wyatt and Capsey smashed the Sri Lankan assault. In the opening stand, Wyatt was tough, while Boucher took a backseat. The two Sri Lankan bowlers who started the match were in disbelief as England sprinted to 28/0 in the first two overs. Before Sri Lanka put an end to Wyatt’s spree, that turned into 66 in six overs. When 48 fell for her, Boucher did too.

Freya Kemp’s 10-ball 20 made sure the run rate didn’t fall, but in the second half of the inning, it was all about Capsey. She hit three consecutive deliveries over the ropes before reaching fifty off just 26 balls as England scored 186 runs in just 17 overs. The presence of rain did help Sri Lanka stay in the race, but that aim was always going to be challenging to surpass.

The players had to leave the field after just 3.1 overs of the chase had been bowled. When the game finally started again, the visitors required 45 points from 17. Even if that equation was still difficult, they had hope since Chamari Athapaththu was there. The inspiring Sri Lankan captain, though, was caught behind for 15 after Mahika Gaur, a rookie, managed to take her first wicket. That wicket dashed Sri Lanka’s hopes, and they ultimately fell short by 12 runs.

Brief results: England Women defeated Sri Lanka Women 55/3 in 6 overs (Nilakshi de Silva 18; Charlotte Dean 1/6) by 12 runs via DLS (Alice Capsey 51, Danielle Wyatt 48; Kavisha Dilhari 1/18).