Mendis arrived at the crease with his side needing 58 off 39 deliveries with five wickets in hand while chasing 293. He then blasted 44 off just 23 balls as Derbyshire crossed the line with just two balls left in the chase. Openers Ben Slater and Billy Godleman set up the win with an 86-run partnership for the first wicket with the former going on to score 82.

In another match Gary Ballance smashed a 118-ball 152 before an all-round effort from the Yorkshire bowlers helped the visitors rise to the top of the North Group points table at Northampton. Asked to bat first, Yorkshire had a shaky start, that saw Adam Lyth (2), Joe Root (7) and Peter Handscomb (9) fall cheaply. Jonny Bairstow too didn’t convert a good start, leaving Yorkshire on 73 for 4 in the 18th over. Ballance and Matthew Waite (43) added 105 runs off 121 balls, before the late flourish took the team to 300. Ballance, who smashed 19 fours and 3 sixes in his innings, added 121 runs in the last 12 overs with Adil Rashid (41 n.o. off 35 balls). In reply, Northamptonshire were bundled out for 136 in the 29th over. With this defeat, Northamptonshire are out of the tournament. An excellent century by Dane Vilas coupled with an all-round effort by Jordan Clark helped Lancashire register a thumping win over Worcestershire by 152 runs at Old Trafford in Manchester. Even though Lancashire lost half their side in the 32nd over while batting first, Vilas and Clark added 160 off just 113 balls with the former reaching a ton off 83 balls. Clark also remained unbeaten at the other end on 79 as Lancashire went past the 300-run mark.

Chris Liddle’s magnificent spell in the middle overs helped Gloucestershire pull things back and register a narrow 11-run win over Kent at Bristol. At one stage Kent were cruising at 200 for 2 while chasing 276 but Liddle, who had already remove Joe Denly, managed to get rid of Daniel Bell-Drummond for 90. The hosts seized upon that opportunity to strike at regular intervals to completely overturn the momentum. Liddle went on to finish with a five-wicket haul.

Glamorgan wasted a fine start to eventually wilt in their run chase and lose by 16 runs to Middlesex in Radlett.

Rilee Rossouw’s blistering ton helped Hampshire make light work of the 250-run target set by Somerset. Rossouw lit up Taunton with an 113-ball 156 that consisted of 24 fours and two sixes. Even though wickets kept falling at the other end, Rossouw ensured that Hampshire kept pace with the asking rate. Eventually, they won with 76 balls to spare.

Sussex’s decision to bowl first worked wonders when Jerome Taylor stunned Essex with a hat-trick in the fifth over of the game. Varun Chopra, Tom Westley and Adam Wheater fell off consecutive deliveries to leave Sussex in a spot of bother but the seasoned Alastair Cook brought his expertise into play with a masterful ton. Cook’s 109 included 12 fours and Ten Doeschate’s 91-ball 102 ensured that his side finished with 295 for 7 – a total that seemed impossible when Essex were tottering at 19 for 3 in the fifth over.

England, its host for a majority of the tour, has comprehensively outplayed it in both Tests and ODIs so far, and in doing so, has claimed an unassailable lead in the new multi-format points system. So it is that when the two sides clash one final time in a Twenty20 International at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday (July 5), Sri Lanka will be fighting to avoid a clean sweep across formats.

After a 0-2 loss in the Tests and a 0-3 reversal in the ODIs, Sri Lanka will find it a struggle to boost morale. After the final ODI – a comprehensive 122-run loss in Cardiff – Angelo Mathews, the captain, found himself fending off questions about his captaincy, saying: “This is a tough time for me as a captain and for the whole unit. But you can’t run away from it.”

The hope was that the ODIs would help Sri Lanka emerge strong from its troubles in Tests, the hope stemming from the possibility of the shorter format narrowing the gap between the teams. However, England – a markedly different side in limited-overs internationals since Sri Lanka defeated it in the ICC World Cup 2015 – proved too strong once again, and apart from the first ODI which ended in a tie, was comprehensive winner in the remaining three completed matches.

The problem for Sri Lanka has been that its departments have struggled to work in tandem. The batsmen posted 305 for 5 in the fourth ODI, but the bowlers struggled to restrict England to below that score. Then, when England set it 325 to win in the fifth, its batsmen were contained to 202.

“I’m pretty sure if we keep improving day by day, we can come out of this hole,” said Mathews after the final ODI. “For the past two months, we’ve been having the same problems, either batting, bowling or fielding has let us down in every single game.”

Ahead of the final clash of what has been a tiresome series, Sri Lanka will hope to depart with its heads held high. A late cameo or a couple of miscues usually prove decisive in T20s, and Sri Lanka knows it has its best chance yet to put one over England. Recent form doesn’t favour Sri Lanka in that respect either – England reached the final of the ICC World T20 2016, while the Sri Lankans failed to get out of their group.

England, meanwhile, is expected to blood a few youngsters in the one-off clash, including Tymal Mills, the paceman. He comes with a reputation for searing pace, something that gained momentum after he roughed up Chris Gayle during the NatWest T20 blast last month. “I’d love to see him play. I won’t be the sole selector, but from my point of view, it would be great to see someone like that charge and give it everything,” said Trevor Bayliss, the England coach.

“It’s good to see some batsmen ducking and weaving.”

Eoin Morgan, the England captain, spoke before the ODIs of how much of a confidence booster it was for the side to reach the ICC World T20 2016 final, and warned of coping with bigger expectations. Those expectations would only have increased after its performances in the series so far.

Teams (from):

England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Sam Billings, Johnny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, David Malan, Tymal Mills, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey.

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Upul Tharanga, Dhananjaya de Silva, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Farveez Maharoof, Suraj Randiv, Seekkuge Prasanna.