Sri Lanka re-wrote history books today by registering the first-ever series win over England after defeating the hosts in the third T20 by seven wickets at Derby.
England were bowled out for 116 in 19 overs after another impressive Sri Lankan performance in the field.
Chamari Athapaththu top-scored with 44 from 28 balls as Sri Lanka reached their target with three overs to spare.
It is only Sri Lanka’s second series victory from their last 15 bilateral series.
Athapaththu was dismissed by Alice Capsey with 52 runs still required but Harshitha Samarawickrama and Hasini Perera played sensibly to withstand England’s economical bowling to complete the chase.
It is England’s second successive batting collapse after their 104 all out in the second T20 at Chelmsford, with Heather Knight’s side looking fatigued and short of answers to Sri Lanka’s spinners.
They started poorly again and failed to recover as Danni Wyatt was caught at cover from the first ball of the game before Capsey was calamitously run out in the second over after a mix-up with Maia Bouchier, who went on to top score with 23.
Sri Lanka’s players were visibly emotional, running on to the pitch and embracing the batting pair as the winning runs were struck.
Meanwhile, England will look to fight back in the three-match one-day international series, which starts in Durham on Saturday.
