3 min readUpdated: Jan 31, 2026 01:08 PM IST Sam Curran bounced back from being smashed around the park in his first spell by taking a hat-trick and powering England to a 11-run win (DLS method) over Sri Lanka in the first T20I in Pallekele. Curran, who is on the comeback trail in international cricket and was only recently confirmed as part of their squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, is just the second England player to take a hat-trick in T20 internationals after Chris Jordan became the first to do so in the 2024 T20 World Cup against the USA. Curran bowled the opening and seventh overs in his first spell of the match, which had been delayed and reduced to the 17-overs-a-side. He conceded as many as 16 runs in the first over and was then pummelled by Kusal Mendis in the seventh for 20 runs. By the time he returned for the 16th over, though, Sri Lanka were tottering at 125/6 with spinners Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson leaving them in …