Chasing 130, England openers Buttler and Jason Roy put on 80 runs for the first wicket inside 10 overs. Roy (36) was dismissed by Dushmantha Chameera in the 10th over, but the wicket came too late for the visitors. Dawid Malan (7) was bowled by Isuru Udana in the 14th over, reducing England to 112/2.
In the end, Buttler along with Jonny Bairstow (13) guided England over the line by eight wickets in hand and 17 balls to spare.
Earlier, two wickets each from Rashid and Sam Curran helped England restrict Sri Lanka to 129/7 in the allotted twenty overs.
Sri Lanka got off to a bad start with the bat as the side was reduced to 52/4 in the ninth over. Entire top-order failed to show any resistance and as a result, England gained an early advantage.
Lower down the order, Shanaka struck 50 runs from 44 balls and this was the innings which helped Sri Lanka go past the 120-run mark. Apart from Shanaka, skipper Kusal Perera also played a knock of 30 runs.
Brief Scores Sri Lanka 129/7 (Shanaka 50, Kusal Perera 30, Adil Rashid 2-17); England 130/2 (Jos Buttler 68*, Jason Roy 36, Dushmantha Chameera 1-24).
Cardiff, June 24
Adil Rashid's two-wicket haul was backed up by Jos Buttler's unbeaten 68-run knock as England defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the first T20I of the three-match series on Wednesday here at the Sophia Gardens.
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