Pallekele [Sri Lanka], February 22 : England opener Phil Salt surpassed Jonny Bairstow to become the Three Lions' fifth-highest run-getter in T20Is with a resilient, lone-warrior half-century against Sri Lanka in his side's Super Eight clash in the ICC T20 World Cup at Pallekele on Sunday.
During the clash against Lankan Lions, the co-hosts kept striking at regular intervals; however, it was Salt who kept the English batting afloat with a 40-ball 62, including six fours and two sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 155.00.
Now in 57 T20Is, Salt has made 1,710 runs in 53 innings at an average of 36.38 and a strike rate of 166.50, with four centuries and eight fifties and a best score of 141*. Bairstow had scored 1,671 runs in 80 matches and 72 innings at an average of 29.83 and a strike rate of 137.53, with 10 fifties and a best score of 90.
The top run-getter for England in T20Is is legendary Jos Buttler, with 4,010 runs in 152 matches and 140 innings at an average of 34.27, with a strike rate of almost 148, including a century and 28 fifties.
Salt has blown hot and cold in the tournament so far, with 123 runs in five innings at an average of 24.60 and a strike rate of 166.21, with a half-century to his name. While he did get decent scores of 30 and 28 against West Indies and Italy, poor outings against Scotland (2) and Nepal (1) have led to him having a mixed bag tournament.
Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bowl first, and their bowlers ripped out the heart of England's batting by removing Buttler (7), Jacob Bethell (3), Tom Banton (6), Harry Brook (14) and Sam Curran (11), reducing them to 94/5 in 13.2 overs. It was Salt's valiant 62 and a quick cameo of 21 in 14 balls, with four boundaries from Will Jacks that pushed England towards 146/9 in 20 overs.
Dunith Wellalage (3/26 in four overs) and Maheesh Theekshana (2/21 in four overs) managed to tame England against spin, a key weakness of theirs, while Dilshan Madushanka (2/25 in four overs) and Dushmantha Chameera (1/34 in four overs) also got wickets.