Sam Curran finished with figures of 3/38, having conceded a whopping 36 runs in his first two overs. (AP Photo)
Sam Curran bounced back from being smashed around the park in his first spell by taking a hat-trick and powering England to a 11-run win (DLS method) over Sri Lanka in the first T20I in Pallekele. Curran, who is on the comeback trail in international cricket and was only recently confirmed as part of their squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, is just the second England player to take a hat-trick in T20 internationals after Chris Jordan became the first to do so in the 2024 T20 World Cup against the USA.
Curran bowled the opening and seventh overs in his first spell of the match, which had been delayed and reduced to the 17-overs-a-side. He conceded as many as 16 runs in the first over and was then pummelled by Kusal Mendis in the seventh for 20 runs.
By the time he returned for the 16th over, though, Sri Lanka were tottering at 125/6 with spinners Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson leaving them in tatters. The hosts’ hopes for making a competitive total rested on the set Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga and Curran got the former caught at mid-off off the fourth ball of the over. This was followed by Maheesh Theekshana being caught at long on next ball. Curran then cleaned up Matheesha Pathirana to complete the over and the hat-trick.
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 🔥
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[Sam Curran, Wickets, Hat-trick, England, History, Sri Lanka, Fast Bowling] pic.twitter.com/Q88tv6S3AG
— FanCode (@FanCode) January 30, 2026
Hasaranga fell to Jamie Overton second ball of the next over and Sri Lanka were all out for just 133 runs in 16.2 overs.
Phil Salt and Jos Buttler then came in and smashed together an opening partnership of 36 runs in just 17 balls. Salt stuck around till what turned out to be the last over of the match, falling to Shanaka for 46 in 35 balls. Rain returned at the end of that over with England needing just 10 to win off 12 balls. No more play was possible and England were 11 runs ahead of the DLS par score.
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