England wins rain-hit 2nd T20 against Sri Lanka by 6 wickets to clinch series ahead of World Cup

PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka (AP) — Tom Banton hit 54 not out off 33 balls and England won the second T20 against Sri Lanka by six wickets with two balls remaining under the DLS method on Sunday to clinch the series.

England has a 2-0 lead in the three-match series ahead of cricket's T20 World Cup, which starts Saturday.

Banton hit three sixes and four fours as England successfully chased down the revised target of 168 in 17 overs. It finished with 173-4 in 16.4 overs. Jos Buttler scored 39 runs off 29 balls, with six fours.

Sri Lanka lost the toss and had earlier reached 189-5 in 20 overs, with Pavan Rathnayake top-scoring for his team with 40 off 22 balls.

A short burst of rain meant the game was reduced to 17 overs a side.

Sri Lanka was beaten by 11 runs in a rain-affected series opener on Friday, also at Pallekele. The final T20 will be played at the same venue on Tuesday.

Pathum Nissanka scored 34 off 22 balls with two sixes and added 56 off 33 with Kamil Mishara (36) for the first wicket.

Jofra Archer (2-42) got the breakthrough in the sixth over, bowling Nissanka. Kusal Mendis then added another 50 off 33 balls for the second wicket with Mishara.

Mendis hit 32 off 17 deliveries, with four fours and a six, as Sri Lanka kept up a good scoring rate before losing three quick wickets.

Will Jacks had Mishara dismissed in the 11th over. Eight balls later, Liam Dawson sent back Mendis, while Adil Rashid trapped Dasun Shanaka lbw for 1 in the 14th over.

Rathnayake helped rescue the side from 131-4, sharing a stand of 56 runs off 36 balls with Charith Asalanka, who scored 28 not out off 22 balls and four fours.

It seemed a tough target for England, which had reached 57-2 in 7.2 overs — behind the DLS par score — when rain intervened.

Opener Phil Salt fell for 1, caught off Matheesha Pathirana (2-47), while Jacob Bethell was out for 13.

Rain and a wet outfield held up play for around 75 minutes before resuming with an adjusted target.

Buttler provided support to Banton, who powered his way to a half-century off 29 balls.

The duo added 43 off 28 deliveries before Buttler fell to Dunith Wellalage in the 10th over.

Banton added another 49 off only 20 balls with skipper Harry Brook (36), and then another rapid 43 off 25 with Sam Curran (20 not out off 14 balls) to win the match.

Brook smashed four sixes off 12 balls to bring the target within reach, before he was caught off Pathirana.

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England's Jos Buttler, left, celebrates with England's Phil Salt after hits a boundary during the second T20 cricket match between England and Sri Lanka in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb, 1. 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Pavan Rathnayake plays a shot during the second T20 cricket match between England and Sri Lanka in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb, 1. 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Dasun Shanaka celebrates the dismissal of England's Jacob Bethell during the second T20 cricket match between England and Sri Lanka in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb, 1. 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

England's Tom Banton celebrates his fifty runs during the second T20 cricket match between England and Sri Lanka in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb, 1. 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Janith Liyanage unsuccessfully attempts a run out as England's Tom Banton successfully completes a run during the second T20 cricket match between England and Sri Lanka in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb, 1. 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Iran fired missiles at Israel and some Gulf nations while explosions could be heard around Tehran and the central Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday, as the United States prepared to further reinforce its already significant military forces in the Middle East.

As the war that began Feb. 28 was to enter its sixth week, Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait warned about incoming missile fire, although it was unclear if anything was struck. Activists reported strikes around Tehran and the central city of Isfahan but it wasn’t immediately clear what was hit.

Iran’s attacks on Gulf region energy infrastructure and its tight grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas transits in peacetime, has sent oil prices skyrocketing.

Oil prices surged while Asian financial markets rose moderately during cautious trading. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 11.4% to $111.54 a barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.8% to $109.03 per barrel.

U.S. President Donald Trump said U.S. forces will keep hitting Iran “very hard” in the next two or three weeks.

The largest American aircraft carrier in service sailed out of Split, in Croatia and “remains poised for full mission tasking in support of national objectives in any area of operation,” the Navy’s 6th Fleet announced.

It was unclear where it was going. The USS Abraham Lincoln remains in the Arabian Sea and the USS George H. W. Bush aircraft carrier departed Norfolk on Wednesday to head to the Mideast.

Here is the latest:

Oil prices continued to surge on worries of a prolonged Iran war but the Asian markets that were open Friday rose moderately in cautious trading, while others were closed for the Good Friday holidays.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 11.4% to $111.54 a barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.8% to $109.03 per barrel.

The U.S. only relies on the Persian Gulf for a fraction of the oil it imports, but oil is a commodity and prices are set in a global market.

The situation is very different in Asia. Japan, for example, relies on access to the Strait of Hormuz for much of the nation’s oil import needs and would need to rely on alternative routes. But some analysts say Japan and oher nations are counting on an agreement with Iran to allow transports.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.9% in Friday morning trading to 52,938.62. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.1% to 5,344.41. The Shanghai Composite sank 0.5% to 3,899.57. Trading was closed in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia and India.

Wall Street, where trading is closed Friday, finished its first winning week since the start of the Iran war, although trading started out with a decline driven by a surge in oil prices.

Bangladesh is curtailing office hours and enforcing early closure of malls and shops beginning Friday to handle its energy crisis related to the war.

The country’s cabinet ordered 30% spending cuts for fuel and power at government offices, suspended some staff training and stopped purchases of new vehicles, ships and aircraft. Decorative lighting will not be allowed for celebrations.

Bangladesh, a nation of more than 170 million people, is seeking alternative fuel sources and $2.5 billion in external financing for imports, which account for 95% of its fuel.

Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen on Friday urged motorists getting away for a long weekend during the Easter holiday to fill up in cities because most of the nation’s fuel shortages are in rural areas.

Among 2,400 gas stations in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, 182 had run out of diesel by Friday.

In Australia’s second-most populous state, Victoria, 76 gas stations were out of diesel. In the remaining states ranked by the most populous first, Queensland had 75 stations without diesel, Western Australia had 37, South Australia had 28 and in Tasmania there were seven.

“For those Australians planning a road trip this weekend, given our shortages are predominantly in rural and regional Australia, it makes sense to fill up in the city to help the country if you can,” Bowen said in Sydney.

The government, which blamed regional shortages on panic buying and distribution problems, is concentrating on delivering fuel to farmers for planting crops.

Israeli security forces and rescue teams inspect a site struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel,Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Members from the Popular Mobilization Forces attend a funeral of fighters who were killed in a U.S. airstrike, in Tal Afar, Nineveh province, north of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

A man with burn wounds from an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon sits on a bed at the Sidon Government Hospital in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A boy who fled with his family following Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon sits inside the van they are using as shelter in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

President Donald Trump arrives from the Blue Room to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)