England slumped to their first defeat by Sri Lanka in T20 internationals

England slumped to their first defeat by Sri Lanka in T20 internationals as the visitors levelled the series with an eight-wicket win at Chelmsford.

England collapsed to 104 all out off 18 overs with Sri Lanka’s superb spinners taking eight of the 10 wickets.

Charlie Dean’s 34 was the only score of more than 20 in England’s innings.

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu then hit an entertaining 55 from 31 balls as her side reached their target with 40 balls to spare.

Athapaththu was dismissed by Alice Capsey with 26 runs still required but Harshitha Madavi and Vishmi Gunaratne calmly completed the chase.
Sri Lanka were understandably jubilant in celebration, Harshitha raising her arms aloft as she sealed the winning runs with a six off Kate Cross.

England opener Danni Wyatt was bowled in the first over to spark a dismal collapse that saw England stutter to 51-6 at the halfway mark, a stark contrast to the 186-4 that they posted in the first T20 at Hove on Thursday.

The series decider takes place at Derby on Wednesday.