Sri Lanka's Collapse as Dawson and Overton Dominate
Sri Lanka eased to 56 without loss. Then the innings fell off a cliff.
What had been a measured, confident start in the powerplay turned into a collapse of 4 wickets for 33 runs, as Liam Dawson and Jamie Overton ripped the heart out of the visitors’ top order.
Dawson’s over that changed everything
Lahiru Udara and Pathum Nissanka had steered Sri Lanka into a commanding position, picking gaps, rotating the strike, and largely neutralising England’s new-ball threat. With the powerplay winding down, Sri Lanka looked set to launch.
Enter Liam Dawson.
Brought on for the final over of the powerplay, the left-arm spinner needed only one ball to change the mood. Udara, on 21, decided Dawson was the man to take on, trying to loft him straight back over mid-on. He picked out the tallest man in the ring. Jamie Overton barely had to move, cupping the catch with those “bucket hands” and sending Udara on his way at 56-1.
That was the crack in the dam. The flood followed immediately.
Kamil Mishara, who had opened in the previous match but dropped down the order today, walked in and walked straight back. First ball, he punched firmly but fatally back at Dawson. The bowler reacted sharply, clinging on to a smart return catch. Two wickets in two balls, Sri Lanka suddenly 56-2, and Dawson on a hat-trick with visiting captain Charith Asalanka striding out under real pressure.
Dawid Malan, watching on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, summed up the dismissal of the left-handed Mishara with a batter’s frustration: you’d be disappointed to play that shot against a left-arm spinner skidding it across you. Dawson, though, wouldn’t have minded at all. His over – two wickets and just a single run – turned a serene start into a scramble.
The powerplay closed with no run from the final ball. Sri Lanka, once cruising, were now searching for stability.
Overton takes over
The respite never came.
With the field spread and the ball a little older, Jamie Overton took the ball as England exited the powerplay. His first over looked innocuous enough on the scoreboard: a wide and four singles. But the pace, the height, and a hint of variation began to ask different questions.
Sri Lanka reached 61-2, and Asalanka tried to wrest back control, making room and carving Dawson through cover point for four. It felt like a statement shot. Yet the innings never quite regained its early rhythm.
At 70-2, Overton returned and tightened the screw. Five singles from the first five balls of his over built a quiet kind of pressure. Pathum Nissanka, who had anchored the start, chose to take on the short ball. He mis-timed the pull badly, sending a simple catch looping to Harry Brook at mid-on. Nissanka’s 37 had promised more; instead, he walked off with Sri Lanka now 75-3 and England’s belief swelling.
The tall seamer wasn’t finished.
Kamindu Mendis arrived and initially looked the part. He reverse-swept Adil Rashid’s first over for four past the keeper, then ran hard for a pair of twos down the ground, even beating a sharp throw to Jos Buttler. There was intent, there was clarity. For a brief spell, Sri Lanka’s innings flickered back to life at 84-3.
Then Overton struck again.
Having just cut a wide-ish delivery from the seamer for four, Mendis tried to repeat the dose. This time he chopped on, dragging the ball into his stumps for 12. Overton roared away with his second wicket, Sri Lanka slumping to 89-4, the early platform now a memory.
One delivery in that spell underlined how much he had on his mind. A slower ball came out as a full toss, fended away by Nissanka earlier in the innings. It looked like an attempted knuckle ball – the very variation that had earned him a wicket in Southampton. Even when it didn’t quite come out right, Sri Lanka never felt fully in control.
From platform to pressure
From 56 without loss to 89-4, Sri Lanka’s innings told a familiar white-ball story: a strong platform squandered by a ruthless burst of disciplined bowling.
Dawson’s subtle changes of pace and angle opened the door. Overton barged through it with pace, bounce, and just enough variation to unsettle batters who had looked so assured in the first six overs.
Sri Lanka still have time to rebuild, but the tone of the contest has shifted. England, once searching for a breakthrough, now have their tails up. The visitors, who promised a commanding total after that fluent start, suddenly find themselves fighting simply to post something competitive.
