Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Sam Curran He celebrated a “special” night after taking his second T20 hat-trick in England’s win over Sri Lanka.
Curran joins Chris Jordan 2024 as England A hat-trick of T20 defeats against Sri Lanka helped the hosts restrict the elimination to 133.
The left-armer has made a remarkable recovery after being knocked down for 35 in the first two overs and is very excited about the way he has been able to bounce back.
“It’s cool to say I had a hat-trick, but I had a weird night personally after scoring a few penalties in the first few games!” Curran said.
“T20s are an up-and-down thing. A good win and we take a lot of confidence from our first T20 win.
“It was really special, in my prime, Jos (Buttler) told me to go around the wicket. One of those where you aim for the stumps and hope he misses, and thankfully he did.
“When the night starts, I’ll take any wicket or penalty! There’s a lot of excitement when you let go and see the stumps light up, which makes the night even sweeter.”
Adil Rashid Earlier, he had bewildered the Sri Lankan batsmen in Kandy, taking 3 for 19 in four overs with a stunning performance to demolish the hosts’ innings.
“Adil has been our star player for a long time,” Curran added. “We really hope he can play a big role for us over the next few weeks, which is very exciting for us.”
Phil Salter Making full use of the two’s life, England were chasing a 46-run lead, but due to rain, England ended the match early at 125 for 4, with the tourists winning by 11 runs in the DLS method.
The win takes England 1-0 up in the three-match series ahead of the T20 World Cup opener in Mumbai on February 8, with two more matches at the same venue.
If England progress from a group containing West Indies, Scotland, Nepal and Italy, as they should, their Super 8 matches will be played in Sri Lanka – either in Kandy or in Colombo, where they won the ODI series earlier this week.
“Winning is a confidence boost and a habit and I think we want to continue that leading up to the World Cup,” Curran added.
“This is a very important series for us and we are playing in similar conditions to the World Cup.
“We know how exciting the next few weeks are and we want to make the country proud. Hopefully we can be well prepared.”