Sri Lanka vs England Prediction: Rushing to back Rashid at 3/1 in 2nd T20I

A DLS-assisted win for England in the 1st T20 was highlighted by a Sam Curran hat-trick. Will we see anything as cool in the second match? Jamie Pacheco previews the 2nd T20I between Sri Lanka and England, starting 13:30 on Sunday, February 1 and live on TNT Sports 1.  

Jamie came up with a winner at 7/2 with his only (settled) bet last time out and has 3/1 and 28/1 shots ahead of this one...

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*You can check out the Cricket Odds from all of our Cricket Betting markets over on betfred.com

Match Preview:

Sri Lanka  

Sri Lanka's efforts with the bat on Friday go a long way to explaining their struggles in the last few years in this format. The usual suspects in Passum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis made bright starts in the top order, and at one stage, they were looking set for 170-180, which would have been extremely competitive, probably a winning score, in fact.  

But once those two were out, they just crumbled as a result of not rotating the strike and when getting bogged down as a result, frustration kicked in, and they went for big shots that weren't there to be played.  

In the end, they were all out for 133, with numbers 6, 9, and 10 out for a combined total of one run between them.  

Just about the only positive other than the fast start was Matheesha Pathirana with the ball, whose figures of 1-18 off four overs were excellent.  

Rathnayake, very impressive in the ODI Series, could come in for Dhananjaya.    

England 

England could go well at the World Cup if Friday's performance is anything to go by, a thoroughly professional performance with both ball and bat, the former led by Adil Rashid and Sam Curran, each taking three wickets, though everyone played their part.  

In a week where Harry Brook made headlines again for the wrong reasons (this time it was lying about the famous nightclub incident), he at least seems to be acting more maturely on the field, a pedestrian 16 off 18 being exactly what England needed to win the match without leaving it to the lower-middle order. 

Jofra Archer was an unexpected inclusion in the place of our top bowler pick Josh Tongue, who didn't feature; money back, of course. 

So, it was left to Phil Salt to provide us a winner in our only remaining wager of the match at 7/2, when he top-scored with 46 off 35. 

Pitch and conditions 

We're at Pallekele again, so we should know what to expect. Or should we? Sri Lanka's batting collapse and the fact that their innings was reduced to 17 overs means we can't be too sure what a good first innings score will be here, but I reckon about 165-170 is a decent target to aim for batting first.  

There could be a little rain around, just like there was in the first match, which could have a bearing on the above, but we're almost certain to get a completed match in.   

Match Winner odds. 

England have been cut to 1/2, which is understandable. Sri Lanka are out to 13/8.  

Are the hosts a good price on home soil to level the Series? I'm not sure they are, based on what we saw last time out. 

And I'm not one to plough into 1/2 shots, unless I think they should be 1/4 shots. So we'll leave this market alone.  

*For all the latest and live Sri Lanka vs England 2nd T20I Odds then head over to betfred.com 

England Top Bowler  

Sam Curran made all the headlines with the ball after taking what was only England's second-ever hat-trick in a T20I, after Chris Jordan did so a couple of years ago.  

But Adil Rashid matched his three wickets, went for exactly half the number of runs, and it was he and not Curran who was Player of the Match.   

This man is just a wicket-taking machine in T20, and I'm very surprised he hasn't had a chance to showcase his talents more often in the IPL over the years. The fact that he's got 40 more wickets than the next best (Jordan) for England tells its own story. He was unplayable at times the other day.  

Worth backing at 3/1? Absolutely.  

Sri Lanka Top batsman  

Another similar batting collapse could open the door to Hasaranga here, who looks rusty with the ball, but hit a couple of big sixes as he tried to salvage something with the bat.  He should have something of a chance at number eight and is occasionally promoted up the order, so we have to take the 28/1 for minimum stakes.   

Jamie Pacheco Cricket P/L 2025: 

• Points Staked: 146 
• Points Returned: 151.7  
• Final P/L: +5.7pts  

Jamie Pacheco Cricket P/L 2026:   

• Points Staked: 13.25
• Points Returned: 19.96
• Current P/L: +6.71