Sam Curran claimed a hat-trick as England beat Sri Lanka by 11 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method in their rain-marred opening Twenty20 International in Pallekele on Friday.
Skipper Harry Brook played the most defining innings of his T20 career, smashing a 51-ball 100 to propel England into the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
India are looking to create history, as they aim to become the first team to successfully defend the T20 World Cup, while England will be aiming to reclaim the title they last won four years ago.
England and West Indies, both former champions, prepare for a critical Group C match in the T20 World Cup after contrasting performances in their opening games. England seeks a more convincing win after a narrow escape against Nepal, while the West Indies aim to continue their strong start.
England faces Nepal in their T20 World Cup opener, hoping to shift focus from off-field issues surrounding captain Harry Brook. Nepal aims to make an impact after a strong showing in the previous edition.
Form and familiarity favour India in T20 World Cup
Rashid stars with ball, Banton seals chase as England beat Scotland to stay alive for Super Eights
One marvelled at the freedom with which the Nepal batters played. They trusted their strokes, ran hard between the wickets, and refused to be overawed.
Tournament co-hosts India will be out to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title. The 10th edition of the 20-overs global showpiece event will run from February 7 to March 8.
England white-ball captain Jos Buttler will return to the side for their One-Day International and Twenty20 tour of the West Indies later in October after recovering from a calf injury, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Wednesday.
Tournament co-hosts India will be out to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title in familiar home conditions next month.
England skipper Jos Buttler hammered a superb 83 off 45 balls to steer his side to a seven-wicket victory in the second Twenty20 international against West Indies.
Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal caught with Rajasthan Royals' players and support staff.
'Hopefully, he will be back from his injuries soon. The priority will be the Champions Trophy, so we are going to make sure he is ready for that.'
Four-Test-old all-rounder Jacob Bethell was awarded his maiden central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) which offered two-year deals to 14 multi-format cricketers, including Test captain Ben Stokes and injury-plagued pacer Jofra Archer.
Play was called off following a long delay after England's innings, in which the tourists scored 153-6 in 20 overs on a difficult wicket, with Sam Curran (49 not out) finishing well after Jos Buttler (29) failed to build on a good start.
Pakistan's veteran batter Babar Azam surpassed Rohit Sharma's world record for the most runs by a batter in T20 Internationals.
Pakistan lost Mohammad Rizwan for a duck in the first over when Moeen Ali had him caught and his opening partner Saim Ayub holed out in the deep to leave the tourists reeling at 14-2.
'Our two (spinners) bowled well but in hindsight, probably should have bowled Moeen in our innings with the way spin was playing.'
Buttler praised leg-spinner Adil Rashid (2/13) and Liam Livinstone (1/24) for their efforts with the ball.
Kohli's 113* or Buttler's 100*? Which inning did you prefer?
Phil Salt set Old Trafford ablaze with a destructive century, smashing multiple records, as England hammered South Africa by 146 runs to level the three-match T20 International series 1-1 on Friday
England players returned home even before the completion of the IPL's league stage on Sunday.
Expect some fireworks for the highly-versatile Cameron Green along with Quinton de Kock, Matheesha Pathirana, Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi.
Having ended the last IPL with three ducks in a row, Buttler has not been able to fire yet in this season.
Traditionally carved from top-quality willow, famous bat-makers, source the bulk of their willow wood from Kashmir.
'You have a lot of options if you want to see. You can remove Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill and you can open with Sai Sudharsan and Ruturaj Gaikwad...'
In a rain-marred contest at Canberra, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav lit up the night with a couple of towering sixes - enough to take him into an elite club of T20I power-hitters, becoming only the second Indian after Rohit Sharma to reach 150 sixes in the format.
New Zealand folded for 171 in reply in 18 overs -- all 10 dismissals through catches -- as England grabbed a 1-0 lead heading into the third and final match in Auckland on Thursday.
'But obviously, Ben trained really well last night. It is great to see him back. He obviously brings a lot on the field and with his presence and leadership skills as well as someone who is always good to turn to," added the wicketkeeper-batter.'
Jacob Bethell has represented England in 29 matches across all formats and will lead the team in the absence of the regular Test players.
Matthew Breetzke became the first player to score half centuries in each of his first five One-Day International appearances as South Africa beat England by five runs in the second ODI at Lord's on Thursday.
In 21 ODIs this year, Buttler has scored 747 runs at an average of 39.31 and a strike rate of over 107, with the best score of 131. He scored a century and four fifties this year in ODIs.
Virat Kohli enhanced his status as a lone ranger by notching up a record-extending eighth IPL century but Royal Challengers could only manage just about par-score of 183 for 3 against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Saturday.
Mystery spinner Varun Charkravarthy on Wednesday rose to the top spot in ICC's T20 International Bowlers' Rankings for the first time
IMAGES from the Super Eight Match of the T20 World Cup, played between England and USA, in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Sunday.
Phil Salt (45) and Buttler (39) broke the back of the chase, smashing 78 from the first six overs, both caught off the bowling of the impressive Haris Rauf (3-38).
The T20I series against South Africa will be played from 10-14 September, following the ongoing ODI series where the Proteas hold an unassailable 2-0 lead heading into the final match on Sunday.
Buttler single-handedly pulled off IPL's biggest chase
Jos Buttler's whirlwind half-century set the tone for Rajasthan Royals' emphatic 72 run victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.
