Dawid Malan's dynamic 76 from 48 balls helped England to an 89-run win at Southampton on Saturday (Jun 26) as they claimed a 3-0 clean sweep of Sri Lanka in a Twenty20 series.
England have powered to a clean sweep in the Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka with a thumping 89-run victory at the Rose Bowl.
Dawid Malan returned to form in the final match on Saturday with a classy 76 from 48 balls after single-figure scores in the back-to-back wins at Cardiff.
With just one fifty in his last seven innings, the world No.1-ranked T20 batsman sparkled in a knock containing five fours and four sixes after being promoted to open the batting.
Jason Roy's tight hamstring led to a batting reshuffle and Malan and Jonny Bairstow, who made 51 off 43 deliveries, put on 105 in 11.4 overs, before Dushmantha Chameera's career-best 4-17 restricted England to 6-180.
Sri Lanka ultimately capitulated to 91 all out in 18.5 overs as they lost the series 3-0.
In what has been a recurrent theme of the series, Sri Lanka lacked scoring options and England were collectively excellent with the ball, David Willey taking 3-27 while fellow left-armer Sam Curran collected two wickets.
Sri Lanka had won the toss for the third time and elected to field, but Isuru Udana had a forgettable introduction, sending down four wides in a 10-ball over as England racked up 48 in the powerplay.
Bairstow went to a 41-ball fifty before playing around Udana's yorker as Sri Lanka made a belated breakthrough in the 12th over.
Malan, though, reached his half-century from only 30 deliveries, his 12th 50-plus score in just 27 T20 innings.
He then belted Wanindu Hasaranga for two towering leg-side sixes in a 15th over that yielded 18, but from a position of 1-143, England lost five wickets in 23 legal balls as thoughts of a 200-plus total vanished.
Sri Lanka found boundaries hard to come by in reply after Danushka Gunathilaka was dismissed quickly by David Willey.
The visitors had lurched to 3-29 in the fifth over when Kusal Mendis tentatively nicked off to Willey.
Sri Lanka did, at least, avoid setting a new benchmark for the lowest T20 score in their history – which remains 82 against India in February 2016 – but any hope of a surprise victory had long since vanished.
