England vs Sri Lanka, 29th Match, Group 1 at Sharjah, T20 World Cup, Nov 01 2021 - Match Result

9.43 pm England let Buttler walk alone to lead the team off the field. It's his day. Now with a century in all three formats for England.

Runaway winner of Player of the Match here. And how! From 47 for 3 after 10 overs, he gains steam making the turn at the end of the backstretch and then sprints through the home stretch through the final furlong pulling away like Secretariat. Who'd have thought three hours ago at the 10-over stage that England would not just win, but win by bowling Sri Lanka out with an over to spare?!

Eoin Morgan now has the most number of wins by a captain in Men's T20Is with 43, moving past former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan.

And now it's Jos Buttler's post-match award acceptance speech: "I think staying patient and keeping my head. I found it really tough early on. I managed to get a really good partnership going with Morgs and we tried to attack the back end. We were just trying to get something going, were finding the spin bowlers a bit tricky and thought 120 might be a good score. We each tried to take the small side and target that and I really enjoyed batting with Morgs. I just use the same [bat] all the time. Even in the nets, if I find one I like, I keep it. [The runout] was probably the favorite bit of my day. We were under pressure there for a long part of that chase knowing that [Moeen] had to bowl that [missing over after Mills left injured] so to take that wicket there was crucial and I was delighted with that. [About the final ball six to bring up 100] I was trying to guess where he was going to bowl to be honest. I was pretty calm. But I think at that stage I'd batted for a long time, just staying patient and hoping he'll miss."

So England solidify their position at the top of the table with that win. Meanwhile Sri Lanka are effectively eliminated with their third loss in Super 12s play.

More Buttler with Michael Atherton on Sky Sports: "We showed a lot of character. Obviously conditions changed quite a bit and Tymal picking up an injury as well. Guys stepped up really well. I thought we showed great character as I said. Liam Livingstone was asked to bowl two tough overs there and picked up the key wicket of Hasaranga. I think it was a completely different wicket [compared to the Australia game]. I found it tough early on, the spinners especially tricky with the low bounce and they were hard to get away. So I'm really pleased to keep a calm head and work through it, back myself to come good at the end and start to target certain bowlers and at certain ends with a shorter side on one side. I felt like I used a lot of experience. I remember saying awhile ago, if I can put both parts of my game together then I think I'll be getting in a really good place with my T20 batting. I've had a lot of experience batting in the middle and to put that together with the top, I can back myself to catch up at certain times and the death hitting of my game which is a strength. Experience helps a lot to remaining calm in those situations and it was great to have Morgs at the other end, someone I enjoy batting with a lot and we worked through it together there. He never shows too much emotion and never looks like he's down about things. He certainly enjoyed getting a few out of the middle. He'll feel great for that. It was an incredibly great knock. Being three down when it's tough to come in and start, and when you've had a run of low scores it's probably not the place you want to come and bat. I thought he showed a lot of character and remained calm, which is one of his greatest assets and I thought it was a brilliant partnership we put together. The dew was bad. That was one reason we bowled Adil out early to give him the best chance to bowl with the ball as dry as we could. We don't know if the dew is coming or not. What's pleasing for us today is that we didn't have the best of conditions, which we did have in the three games before, and we still managed to show the character to get a win. [On the decision to use Woakes to finish Mills' over after leaving injured] We just felt with the short side there, we felt it was going to be a big three balls in the game if those two targeted Moeen in that situation. To be fair, we got the wickets which helped in his over. But with the long side, he was confident to bowl with a good field set. We put an immense amount of trust in the guys to ask Livingston to bowl two overs there, great character, and for Moeen to bowl the 19th. Our fielding has been great throughout the tournament so far and that shows the character of the group. It's an attitude and a selfless thing you do for the team. [On scoring 100s for England in all 3 formats] It's a nice thing, a nice stat. I don't really play the game for the stats, just excited about where I feel I am with my batting and for the rest of the tournament."

Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka: "The whole tournament, the bowlers have been outstanding in the first 10 overs. It's been a concern for us the back end every game. For most of the guys, it's their first World Cup and the experience is very low. When they gain more experience, they will do good for the team. In the second half, we knew the dew factor will be a big factor but losing wickets at regular intervals really cost the match for us. But credit to Jos and Morgan, the way they played they showed the experience behind them in international cricket. Six months back, we were not the same team. But these boys have come a long way in this tournament and am really happy about the way the boys have been fighting."

England captain Eoin Morgan: "I'm incredibly proud of everything we've done tonight. I felt the guys had to fight unbelievably hard, particularly with the ball and in the first 10 overs with the bat. Conditions continued to change and then Tymal going down asked another question of ourselves but I thought Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali stepped up unbelievably well to support the other guys with the ball. But I can't fault our guys tonight. We thought it was challenging for the top of the order. I thought Jos Buttler played one of his best ever innings in an England shirt. It was incredible to be at the other end and watch just the ebb and flow, and then just the sheer domination at the end. He really is one of the best in the game, a privilege to play with and great to have in our team. I thought our all-round fielding performance was pretty good, given conditions and how wet things got. We're just delighted with the win. Sri Lanka have pushed us further than we've been pushed so far in this tournament. They've boxed above their weight so far in the World Cup so they should be incredibly proud so far of what they've achieved but we're delighted with four wins. [Why Jos Buttler is special] A combination of unbelievable skill level and the calm nature in which he goes about it. He combines them along with reading the game, knowing where and when to score. If he gets on top, he punishes you."

My fingers need a rest. That's all from myself and Alan Gardner tonight. On behalf of Matt Roller chiming in from Sharjah and the rest of the scoring team, I'm Peter Della Penna. Come back tomorrow for another doubleheader starting with South Africa v Bangladesh in the early game before Pakistan looks to maintain their perfect record against Namibia in the second half of the twin bill. Until then, take care!

Shyam Mehta: "I'm not sure we need to continue this tournament. England have proved they are far and away the best T20I team in the world, by a distance. " In the world of Mike Francesa NY Sports Talk radio, this is what's called Tank Mush. If you're wondering what that is alluding to, google is your friend.

Speak of the devil, here is Kumara in at No. 11. 30 from 10 balls needed to win. Moeen around the stumps.

Hemanth: "As much as this looks like Sri Lanka fluffing the chase, this is actually the case of England's imposition on the opposition." Buttler's first innings demolition of Lahiru Kumara in the second half of the innings certainly had something to do with it.

prakash: "when ever morgan take some questionable decision like chris wokes bowling 3 balls some starts criticizing him but before evryone joining them it turns into gold ....even in this match two wuick wickets now he can go to moeen for last over ....what a captain he has been". The Dublin lad shows I'm just a dumb American.

Here's Moeen.

Sri Lanka running on fumes now. Just two wickets left. 30 to win. Moeen on to bowl his third over.

Another delay after the boundary as England sub fielders sprint on with more towels to dry the ball with.

Rio: "Why is it a run out and not stumped?" Because Shanaka was attempting a run.

Delay here as Shanaka was hit in the family jewels missing that pull shot. Needs a bit of time to make sure everything is intact.

Jordan on to bowl his last.

Well now Sri Lanka's task is just a tad harder with Hasaranga gone, but not impossible. 34 off three overs. If Jaskaran Malhotra can hit 36 in one over, surely Sri Lanka is not out of it!

Karunaratne enters off strike.

Jonathan Hall: "My favourite score, 123for5". Spaceballs has made an appearance now in the comms feedback. I'm confident that Rick Moranis is watching this match from his couch somewhere in Canada.

10 in the over. 41 off 24 needed. Scales still fairly even.

Cric Lover: "@Peter, are England continuing with the coded messages? If so, how is that legal when a similar tactics by Hansie Cronje was not?" Beep beep beep, dot dot dot, beep beep beep. Dash dash dash, dot dot dot, dash dash dash...