Sam Curran scores a hat-trick as Salt leads England to DLS victory over Sri Lanka in the first T20

It was a victory for England brought about by the cunning, age-old brilliance of Adil Rashid, the crucial part of their hopes of a World Cup win in the coming weeks. The masterful leg-spinner took three for 19 as Sri Lanka’s batting line-up collapsed in the first of three Twenty20s, losing five wickets for 22 runs.

Sam Curran also celebrated a late hat-trick as the visitors set a target of 134 in a 17-overs-a-side match after rain delayed the start. They were led by Phil Salt’s 46, but Tom Banton’s 15-ball 29 provided the real impetus and eased the tension in the middle overs.

England almost stumbled over the line when Salt departed in the 15th, but the rain returned with nine needed from 12, the crowd disappearing before the official decision, Harry Brook’s side leading the series after an 11-run win over DLS.

The Pallekele International Cricket Stadium – the venue for this entire series of more than twenty matches – was a lush sight before the start: green banks flank the field, hills with screensavers dominate the background. But unseasonal rain complicated matters, forcing six overs to be played before the first ball.

England had named their XI the night before, including the fit-again Jofra Archer for his first appearance since the third Test of the Ashes. Harry Brook opted to bowl first, quickly handed his premier the second, and after a month’s absence there were positive signs: Archer started with a toe chaser, skipping the ball past Kamil Mishara’s outside edge and almost catching the left-hander at midwicket, with the leaping Liam Dawson unable to hold on.

But the opening passage belonged to Sri Lanka and Curran struggled to find the right spot. After conceding 16 in the first over of the innings, he returned for the seventh and was put on for another 20 by Kusal Mendis. Even the left arm’s new weapon, the moon ball, brought no joy; Mendis sent a switch from 80 km/h to six. The hosts ticked along at a very healthy pace.

As always, England looked to Rashid for wisdom on beard stroking. He combined with Dawson’s turn to fuel the implosion of the middle order: 76 for one became 98 for six. Rashid looped the ball to deliver three fatal slogs, but his delivery of Dhananjaya de Silva, who was dismissed for 11, was the highlight. The 37-year-old started his final with three points as De Silva failed to decode the google. A mistimed strike to Curran in the depths followed.

Dawson, at the other end, took two for 31, his second a fine, slipping delivery to catch Janith Liyanage in front. Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka’s recently re-appointed T20 captain, offered some resistance with his 20, but Curran returned to rewrite the tune of his day. Shanaka and Maheesh Theekshana failed to cross the boundary as they descended the ground before Curran went full and straight and illuminated Matheesha Pathirana’s stumps. The Surrey all-rounder was conceding runs at almost 13 per over; he also became the second man to score a T20 hat-trick for England.

This was Salt’s first time playing against Sri Lanka, a surprising statistic for an opener with over 80 caps for England, but he was his usual self, hitting Theekshana’s trick box for 14 of his first three deliveries. When Jos Buttler started Eshan Malinga’s first over with four consecutive boundaries, it looked like England were heading for a quick one. But Malinga replied with a delightful variation, his cutter hanging in the air to bowl Buttler.

Jacob Bethell advanced to nine before also being undone by Malinga’s change of pace, with the slower ball going to the catcher in the covers. When Salt hit Wanindu Hasaranga to deep midwicket at 17, the collapse seemed underway. But Mishara squandered a simple chance and Banton calmed the situation in his first innings of the tour, punishing Hasaranga with successive reverse blows, the first for four, the second traveling all the way. The Somerset batsman’s takedown was crucial for an easy comparison during the drinks break, with 48 required from the final 48.

Banton couldn’t finish the job, destroying the impressive Pathirana at cover, and Brook was suddenly exposed, with Hasaranga’s Google not letting him settle. But Sri Lanka’s clinical touch was missing, Pathirana denying Brook’s wicket when another catch fell, this time at deep point. The right-arm swinger conceded just 18 from his four overs, setting his marker for the next two matches. But Sri Lanka’s mistakes in this area proved costly.