Asalanka asked England to bat and they made 254, and at Cardiff he has the same call to make

Charith Asalanka looked at the pitch at Southampton on September 15, decided it would help his bowlers, and put England in. “We are going to bowl first. Saw the pitch yesterday and I think it will help us,” he said at the toss. England made 254 for 4.

Sri Lanka have the same decision to make again at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on September 17, with the second T20I starting at 11pm India time. England lead the three-match series 1-0. Lose this one and the trip to Old Trafford on Saturday is a dead rubber.

What actually went wrong at Southampton

Everything, in order. Harry Brook reached his hundred off 42 balls and finished on 114 not out from 49. Jos Buttler made 80 off 44 at the other end. Sri Lanka’s bowlers were not bad so much as irrelevant, which is what happens when two set batters decide the boundary is closer than it looks.

The chase was worse. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 135 in 19 overs, and the shape of the scorecard tells the story better than the margin does. Dunith Wellalage top-scored with 33 off 21. Dasun Shanaka hit 24 off 14. Pathum Nissanka made 12 and Asalanka himself made 10.

Your two best innings coming from numbers seven and eight is not a batting collapse in the normal sense. It is a top order that never turned up, and it happened against an England attack that did not need to be exceptional. Sonny Baker took 3 for 12 in his four overs, Jamie Overton 2 for 20, Liam Dawson 2 for 23. Adil Rashid went for 31 and still took a wicket.

Cardiff is at least a different question

The venue change is the one thing that has moved in Sri Lanka’s favour. Sophia Gardens is a smaller ground than Southampton and it is a surface Sri Lanka have far less recent history of being taken apart on, which is a low bar but a real one. They also have Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana available, and a two-spinner attack is the most credible plan they own against this England batting order.

That is the argument for Asalanka bowling first again. The argument against is that he did exactly that at Southampton and watched England reach 254.

What Sri Lanka need from the top

Nissanka is the one who has to bat long. Sri Lanka’s middle order is deep enough that Kamindu Mendis, Wellalage and Shanaka can all clear the rope, but none of that matters if the innings is four down inside the powerplay and someone is having to rebuild from 30 for 4.

Asalanka has a squad with options. Kamil Mishara, Lahiru Udara and Pavan Rathnayake are all there, and after a 119-run defeat a change or two at the top would surprise nobody. Whether he makes one tells you how he reads Southampton: a bad night, or a structural problem.

England have no reason to change anything, and that is the uncomfortable part. They batted their 20 overs, bowled straight, and won by 119 runs without having to find anything unusual. Cardiff has to be different, or the series is gone by the time they get to Manchester.

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