Chamari Athapaththu was again the star for Sri Lanka as they earned a historic Twenty20 international series win against England.

Athapaththu claimed figures of three for 21 as the hosts were bowled out for 116 before whacking 44 to fire her side to a seven-wicket victory, which sealed a memorable 2-1 series success in the decider at Derby.

The Sri Lanka captain hit a half-century in Saturday’s win at Chelmsford and again brought the fireworks, plundering two sixes and five fours in her 28-ball innings.

It meant that England lost a T20 series to a team other than Australia for the first time since 2010, while also losing a first-ever white-ball series to Sri Lanka.

The opening ball of the match set the tone for England’s disappointing innings as Danni Wyatt slapped a gentle long hop straight to cover and it got worse after a calamitous run out at the end of the second over, where Maia Bouchier and Alice Capsey were both at the same end.

They never got to grips with Sri Lanka’s array of slower bowlers, with skipper Athapaththu taking three  wickets and Udeshika Prabodhani and Kavisha Dilhari both claiming two victims apiece.

Bouchier top scored with 23 while Danielle Gibson added 21 late as England failed to see out their overs.

Athapaththu came out firing and did the leg work of Sri Lanka’s chase in the first seven overs, hitting Kate Cross and 17-year-old Mahika Gaur over the ropes in an array of boundaries.

Her dismissal with score on 65 could have opened the door for England, but they could not make regular inroads and the visitors got over the line with 18 balls to spare.

England will have to defend a below-par score of 116 if they are to win their Twenty20 international series against Sri Lanka.

With the three-match contest tied at 1-1, the hosts were bowled out for a disappointing 116 after being invited to bat first in the decider at Derby.

They never got to grips with Sri Lanka’s array of slower bowlers, with Chamari Athapaththu taking three for 21 and Udeshika Prabodhani and Kavisha Dilhari both claiming two wickets apiece.

Maia Bouchier top scored with 23 while Danielle Gibson added 21 late as England were skittled in the 19th over.

The innings could not have got off to a worse start as Danni Wyatt planted a gentle wide delivery from Inoshi Fernando straight to cover.

The Sri Lankans were celebrating again at the end of the second over when a calamitous mix-up between Bouchier and Alice Capsey saw both batters at the same end, with the latter ran out.

Bouchier and captain Heather Knight did some repair work, sharing a 30-run stand in four overs, but that came to an end when Bouchier holed out to long-on.

Knight (18) and Amy Jones (20) soon followed as England slipped to 72 for five in the 11th over and it looked like they would struggle to get to 100.

But Gibson hit three fours in her 15-ball innings to get them to three figures before a flurry of late wickets saw them fail to see out their overs.

Derby County head coach Paul Warne admitted he was “embarrassed” by his team’s Carabao Cup exit at home to Blackpool.

Warne’s side were booed off at half-time after two goals from Jake Beesley gave Blackpool control they never relinquished.

Beesley pounced in the seventh minute when Derby’s defence failed to deal with a cross from the left and after Owen Dale missed a great chance for a second, a defensive howler gifted Blackpool another.

Callum Elder’s 32nd-minute back header beat goalkeeper Josh Vickers, leaving Beesley to fire into an empty net.

Derby improved after the break and although Conor Washington forced Richard O’Donnell into a save in the 55th minute, a comeback never looked likely.

Warne said: “They were better than us from one to 11, they embarrassed us at times in the first half, we were deplorable with our performance.

“I openly admit I was embarrassed, I’ve never managed a team that’s been booed off at half-time and rightly so. The second half was significantly better but way below what we expect.

“The first half was honestly painful to watch, it’s hard for me to say because they are my team but I can’t sugar-coat performances like that.”

Blackpool head coach Neil Critchley was delighted with his side’s performance at their Sky Bet League One rivals.

“I thought we were excellent first half in and out of possession and played some really good football,” he said.

“Second half I thought we defended very well, I’d just like to see us see the game out with a little bit more possession and keep the ball more than what we did, we turned the ball over too many times.

“But to score two goals and keep a clean sheet, it’s been a good start for us. We had good control, good spells of possession and we were always dangerous.”