Hales century leads England to unlikely victory.

Hales became the first player to score a century for
England in this format of the game.

Alex Hales became the first player to score a century in a T20 International for England as he led his side to a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in England's second World Cup match in Bangladesh.

The Nottinghamshire opener finished unbeaten on 116 off 64 balls and shared a crucial partnership worth 152 for the third-wicket with Eoin Morgan (57) as England claimed a vital win with four balls to spare.

Hales struck a total of seventeen boundaries as he made history and saw England to an improbable victory, one which keeps their hopes in this tournament very much alive.

Sri Lanka thumped 189-4 in their 20 overs, led by Mahela Jaywardene who made 89 from 51 balls and made 145 for the second-wicket, aided by Tilakartne Dilshan who added a steady 55 to dishearten the England bowlers.

Chasing such an imposing total, England were in need of a good start, but were 0-2 after their first over, Michael Lumb and Moeen Ali both falling without troubling the scorers and a heavy defeat seemed to be beckoning.

But Hales overcame a run of poor form to lead England out of a desperate position, as they achieved only their second win in nine T20 Internationals.

Nuwan Kulasekara finished with 4-32 and proved to be the key source of frustration for the England batsmen. His return ended the partnership between Hales and Morgan, the highest partnership of any England pair in this format of the game, after Morgan had reached his fifty.

England's chase was their highest successful run chase in the history of this format, but, in truth, they were chasing more than they might have been, had they held catches at pivotal times.

A total of four drops and a missed run-out allowed Sri Lanka's second-wicket stand to continue for the majority of the innings and a quick-fire 23 from Thisara Perera added to England's misery.

Chris Jordan proved to be the pick of the bowlers with 2-28 from his allocation, including the crucial wicket of Jayawardene, but didn't face a great deal of competition from the rest of the England attack who were average to say the least.

Tim Bresnan continued to struggle with the ball as he finished with 0-48 from four overs and fellow seamer, Jade Dernbach (2-42), was similarly expensive despite removing both of the Sri Lankan openers.

England will feel aggrieved after a key decision seemed to go against them despite television replays showing Lumb had cleanly caught Jayawardene and the Sri Lankan would have been out for a golden duck.

Rather typically, luck didn't favour England and the decision led to Jayawardene establishing a crucial partnership with Dilshan and, most significantly, scoring 89 as England's chances for victory were eroded after they had won the toss and decided to field first.

England's task became almost impossible after a woeful start, but Hales and Morgan launched a response which will silence many critics, who feel England have forgotten how to win matches.

But England's batsmen proved otherwise and, despite losing Morgan and Jos Buttler (2) in quick succession, were able to clinch victory as Ravi Bopara (11*) assisted Hales in his match-winning performance.

This win will not distract England from the long list of problems still facing the camp, but a win will give them a massive boost in confidence as they look to hit a run of form against South Africa on Saturday.