ENG VS SL - 1st T20I, Sri Lanka tour of England, 2021

Not the way Sri Lanka would have wanted to begin their tour but it is what it is. England are arguably the strongest side in limited-overs cricket at present and for a struggling Lankan outfit, the challenges will only keep getting harder. There is less than 24 hours before the next game, so they better shrug this off and look to come back harder. Do join us for the second T20I, same place, same time. Until then, this is Hari Sadanandan signing off on behalf of Nikhil Jadhav, Pradeep Krishnamurthy and Venkatesh AV.

Jos Buttler | Player of the Match: It was a nice performance. The bowlers set it up for us. Bowling first allows you to analyse the wicket better and plan accordingly when batting. We knew it was a surface where power strokes were needed, with the short boundaries. It's about batting in partnerships and it's always great to see him (Roy) go well. It was a great target to chase, credit to the bowlers.

Eoin Morgan | England captain: Quite a comprehensive performance. The pressure the boys created at the beginning, middle and end, was impressive. Bowlers made us look really good today, reduced Sri Lanka to an under-par score. Then the openers gave us that platform upfront, Jos showing his class once again. When you get ahead in the game, we have to sit back and get the best bowlers in certain situations. He (Livingstone) is an all-rounder in the squad, it was good to see him get a wicket early. Bowling both leg-spin and off-spin is a luxury, he is also great in the field and of course with the bat. Great to have Woakesy back. He has been a critical part of our limited-overs setup for a while now. Having back-to-back matches is always stressful for the players, so we might tinker a bit with the squad.

Kusal Perera | SL captain: Credit to England. They bowled well. We didn't have enough runs on the board. Our bowlers tried well. We are backing our batting to come back. Not a lot of time (before next match) and we hope to bounce back. He (Hasaranga) has been really good for us, Dasun (Shanaka) also did a good job.

21:31 Local Time, 20:31 GMT, 02:01 IST: It was expected to be a mismatch and that was pretty much what happened. 129 was never going to trouble England, even on a two-paced Cardiff surface that wasn't the easiest for strokeplay. Buttler and Roy virtually settled the deal in the Powerplay itself, and after that, it was a matter of when England would wrap this up. Buttler batted deep, helped himself to an unbeaten half-century that was full of his signature strokes, making batting look easy on a not-so-straightforward deck. The Lankans simply didn't have enough runs on the board, and if not for the spells of Udana and Hasaranga, this could have been over much earlier.

Chameera to Buttler, 1 run, tough chance dropped! Buttler went hard on this loft, ended up getting a thick edge that was shelled by Kusal Perera who dived one-handed to his right. The half-stop allows the batsmen to take the winning run. England go 1-0 up with a crushing win

Dushmantha Chameera [3.0-0-23-1] is back into the attack

Dananjaya to Bairstow, SIX, it was only a matter of time before Bairstow unfurled his favourite slog sweep against spinners. Gets a hint of flight from Dananjaya, in the slot and dispatched merrily over deep mid-wicket. Scores level with this shot

Dananjaya to Bairstow, no run, tossed up on off stump, Bairstow lunges forward to defend

Dananjaya to Buttler, 1 run, slightly shorter and outside off, punched away to sweeper cover

Dananjaya to Bairstow, 1 run, fuller and straighter this time, wristed away to long-on

Dananjaya to Bairstow, no run, shortish googly, Bairstow rocks back to launch this for a maximum but doesn't connect at all. Gets struck on the pad

Dananjaya to Bairstow, FOUR, first boundary for Bairstow! The reverse sweep to get it, not all that well-executed but enough to get it fine of short third man. Once it went past the infield, it was always four

Akila Dananjaya [3.0-0-28-0] is back into the attack

Udana to Bairstow, 1 run, nails the middle stump yorker, squeezed away past Udana, down to long-on

Udana to Bairstow, no run, more of the stock-ball bumper from Udana and it is quite sharp off the deck, Bairstow sways away from the line

Udana to Bairstow, no run, shortish and into the surface, wider lines too and Bairstow fails to connect the pull

Udana to Buttler, 1 run, full and angling into the pads, whipped away to deep mid-wicket

Udana to Bairstow, 1 run, back of a length outside off, steered away gently to the backward point fielder who makes a diving stop

Udana to Buttler, 1 run, slower and shorter down leg, pulled away down towards fine leg where the fielder makes a good stop