Phil Salt goes big! First big shot of the day and it's a maximum. Shanaka hands the ball to Dunith Wellalage from the other end, and Salt targets the young spinner. The right-hander smashes the third ball of the second over for 6 over long-off.

ENG 11/0 (1.3)

We are LIVE! Dilshan Madushanka opens the bowling for Sri Lanka. Phil Salt and Jos Buttler opening the batting for England. Salt gets off the mark first ball with a single. With rain on the cards, will England look to get off to a brisk start?

ENG 1/0 (0.1)

Time for the national anthems at Pallekele. First England and then Sri Lanka. The rain has not arrived yet, but there is a dark cloud just over the stadium. Stay tuned, though, folks! The match is about to get underway.

England's opening duo of Phil Salt and Jos Buttler haven't hit the ground running in the T20 World Cup 2026 yet. Salt managed just 61 runs in the group stages, while Buttler made only 53. Today would be an excellent day for the duo to get up and running.

England Playing XI vs Sri Lanka: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.

Sri Lanka Playing XI vs England: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Dushan Hemantha, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka.

Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka wins the toss and opts to bowl! The good news is that the sun is still out, as of now. Two changes announced by Sri Lanka, while Harry Brook's England stick to the same lineup as their previous game.

Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka is in a rich vein of form at the moment. He slammed 199 runs in 4 matches in the group phase, including a terrific century against Australia. Sri Lanka will no doubt be banking on him today.

We are just about 15 minutes away from toss time at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. With rain on the cards, it will be interesting to see what changes and decisions are made by the two teams.

As per AccuWeather, the possibility of rain is quite significant during the match hours. Here is the hourly chance of rain for the next few hours:

3:00 PM IST: 61%

4:00 PM IST: 74%

5:00 PM IST: 74%

6:00 PM IST: 49%

Great news! The sun has crept out in Pallekele, as we catch some visuals. With just 30 minutes to go for the toss, this bodes well for the match to start on time. Both sides are warming up on the field.

England lead 5-1 when it comes to the match-ups against Sri Lanka in T20 World Cups (including the 2010 semifinal). The Islanders' only win against England came at this venue (Pallekele) coming in 2012. Dasun Shanaka's men, hence, have all the reasons to keep their hopes high. 

This will be the 18th time that England and Sri Lanka will be meeting in a T20I. England have the upper hand when it comes to head-to-head battles, winning 13 of the previous 17 matches, while Sri Lanka have only won 3. In home conditions, however, the islanders have already produced some formidable results, including a victory against Australia. 

Practice sessions concluded on Saturday just ahead of an evening thunderstorm. On Sunday, however, showers are expected to arrive even earlier in the day. There isn't a lot of optimism around the match at the moment, courtesy the weather. 

The visuals from Pallekele at the moment not painting the nicest of pictures.

Pallekele Kandy Weather Right Now!!! pic.twitter.com/v3UQVrBYEA

— Arxy (@ArxySays) February 22, 2026

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the second Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup 2026 as England prepare to take on Sri Lanka in Pallekele. After the first Super 8 match -- between Pakistan and New Zealand in Colombo -- was washed out without a ball being bowled, the second match is hinting towards a similar fate. The chances of rain in Pallekele are extremely high at the moment. Fingers crossed, for now!