England opened their three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka in the manner the pre-series form lines suggested, thrashing the tourists by 119 runs in Southampton on September 15 — the biggest T20I win margin at the ground.
Captain Harry Brook made 100, and Jos Buttler added 80, as England powered to 254 for 4 in their 20 overs — comfortably clearing 250 in the process. During the innings, Buttler moved past Rohit Sharma to become the second-highest run-scorer in men's T20I history, behind only Babar Azam.
Set 255 to win, Sri Lanka's reply never got going against an England attack defending a total few sides would chase down. They were bowled out for 135, with the result sealed well before the 20th over, extending a wretched recent T20I record against England that pre-dated the series.
A 119-run margin is as emphatic a start as England could have asked for, and it validates the pre-series form gap between the two sides — but one lopsided result against a Sri Lanka side already missing its first-choice captain shouldn't be read as more than that. Charith Asalanka's side will need a sharper performance with both bat and ball in Cardiff to keep the series alive, while England will simply look to carry this momentum into game two rather than treat the job as done.
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The scorecard, individual figures and Buttler's record are verified against same-day match reports, current as of September 16, 2026.
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