Preview: England vs. Sri Lanka - T20 World Cup Super Eight match prediction, squads, results so far, venue, start time

England will start the Super Eight stage of the 2026 T20 World Cup with a game against tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka on Sunday.

The two nations will compete in Group 2 along with New Zealand and Pakistan for a place in the semi-finals.

Match preview

England are still in the hunt for their third T20 World Cup despite producing a series of underwhelming displays in the group phase.

Under Harry Brook's captaincy, England scraped past Nepal in the opening match before they fell short in their toughest group game against the West Indies, putting pressure on their final two group matches.

They recovered from 13 for 2 to chase down a target of 153 against Scotland, before they claimed a 24-run win over a spirited Italian side to secure second place in Group C.

The pre-seeding used at the tournament means that England will compete against all of the other second-placed teams from the group stage, perhaps offering them greater hope of reaching the semi-finals in a fifth consecutive T20 World Cup.

After spending the group stage in India, England are now set to return to Sri Lanka just a couple of weeks after they completed a 3-0 whitewash in a T20 series against the World Cup co-hosts.

Will Jacks believes that the recent experience of playing in Sri Lanka will be beneficial in the Super Eights, telling BBC Sport: "Going back to Sri Lanka, we feel confident there, that experience is good for us."

Pathum Nissanka now has the third-most 50+ scores by an opener in T20 World Cup history. pic.twitter.com/gwiYhVvlna
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) February 20, 2026

While England's qualification went to the final group game, Sri Lanka secured their spot in the Super Eights with a game to spare.

The co-hosts started the tournament with a 20-run success against Ireland, before they thumped Oman by a 105-run margin to put them on the brink of qualification.

Sri Lanka went on to seal the deal with an impressive eight-wicket win over Australia, with Pathum Nissanka hitting 100 not out in a comfortable chase of the 182 target.

While Thursday's game against Zimbabwe may have been a dead rubber, Sri Lanka would have been disappointed to lose momentum with a six-wicket defeat in Colombo.

Coach Sanath Jayasuriya and captain Dasun Shanaka will be looking for a response in the first Super Eight game, with the Lions dreaming of winning the T20 World Cup for the second time.

Incidentally, Sri Lanka have failed to reach the semi-final stage in each of the past four T20 World Cups since lifting the trophy in Bangladesh in 2014.

Team News

England are likely to name the same team that has started each of the final three matches of the group phase.

Former white-ball captain Jos Buttler will be looking for a strong display, having averaged just 13.25 across his four innings.

Jacob Bethell could have an important role to play with the bat as England's top scorer at the tournament with 143 runs to his name, including a high score of 55 against Nepal.

Sri Lanka fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana was ruled out of the rest of the tournament on the eve of Thursday's defeat to Zimbabwe.

Dilshan Madushanka, who replaced Pathirana in the squad, will be hoping to retain his spot in the side after conceding just 20 runs from his three overs against Zimbabwe.

Seamer Dushmantha Chameera is set to return to the side after being rested for the final group game.

England squad:

Harry Brook (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood

Sri Lanka squad:

Dasun Shanaka (c), Charith Asalanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Dushan Hemantha, Dilshan Madushanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Perera, Janith Liyanage, Pathum Nissanka, Pramod Madushan, Pavan Rathnayake, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage

T20 World Cup results

England's tournament so far

vs. Nepal: Won by four runs

vs. West Indies: Lost by 30 runs

vs. Scotland: Won by five wickets

vs. Italy: Won by 24 runs

Sri Lanka's tournament so far

vs. Ireland: Won by 20 runs

vs. Oman: Won by 105 runs

vs. Australia: Won by eight wickets

vs. Zimbabwe: Lost by six wickets

Where will England vs. Sri Lanka be held?

Having played the group stage in India, England will travel to Sri Lanka for the Super Eights stage. The match will take place at the Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Pallekele, which was the venue for all three matches in the recent T20 series between England and Sri Lanka.

When will England vs. Sri Lanka start?

The day-night match will start at 3pm local time, which means it will be a 9:30am start on Sunday morning for UK viewers.

We say: England to win

England may have underperformed in the group stage, but they can draw upon recent T20 success against Sri Lanka, and with that series whitewash in mind, we think they will get the better of the tournament co-hosts on Sunday.