Jos Buttler has surpassed Rohit Sharma on the list of most runs scored in T20I cricket history. The former England captain played a sensational 80-run knock against Sri Lanka in the first T20I in Southampton and with that, he moved to second on the all-time list. The keeper-batter now has 4292 runs to his name in the format, while Rohit made 4231 runs. Pakistan’s Babar Azam currently tops the list, having amassed 4596 runs in T20Is.
Meanwhile, Buttler’s 80 was well supported by England captain Harry Brook. The flamboyant batter smacked unbeaten 114 runs off 49 deliveries as England posted 254 runs on the board in the first innings. They had a rough start to the game, as debutant Aneurin Donald failed to impress, but England didn’t change their attacking approach and made 90 runs in the powerplay.
Buttler and Brook managed to keep up with the tempo as the duo stitched a 128-run partnership of 60 balls. The partnership took Sri Lanka completely out of the contest. After Buttler departed in the 13th over, Brook managed to keep up with the damage and helped England establish their authority in the middle.
In reply, Sri Lanka struggled to make any impression. They lost three wickets in the powerplay and the trend continued before the team was bundled out for 135 runs. Dunith Wellalage finished as the leading run-scorer, making 33 runs. Dasun Shanaka added 24, as England registered a win by 119 runs.
Brook shares partnership with Buttler
After the match, Brook spoke about his phenomenal partnership with Buttler. The captain also highlighted that the pair always aim to run twos in the middle and the effort really makes him proud.
“Every time we've got a decent score, Jos has been there as well, and he's always been an amazing player for England, and he feels like he's just starting to hit his straps again and play some really good cricket. So that's really nice to see. And one thing that we've spoken about a lot is running twos, and I think there was 22 twos today, which is a phenomenal effort from everybody out there. So that's something to be really proud of as well,” Brook said in the post-match presentation.
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