Will Jacks thinks England benefitted from not having the expectancy to dominate as they breathed life into their T20 World Cup campaign with a 51-run win over Sri Lanka.

Part-time spinner Jacks took 3-22 to help dismiss Sri Lanka for a measly 95 in reply to England's catchable 146-9 in Pallekele.

It marks a winning start to the Super 8s stage for England, who won three of their four matches in the first group phase but without inspiring in wins over Scotland, Italy, and Nepal, and defeat to West Indies

But Jacks, who also contributed a valuable 21 with the bat as Phil Salt top scored with 62, thinks the challenge of facing the tournament's more established cricketing nations has given England a freer approach.

"We haven't been quite at our best but we have been winning those close games. It's quite relieving to get through that stage where you are expected to win," Jacks said.

"Coming back here against the better teams, some of that pressure is off. You can just go out and play your way. That's something we did today – playing with freedom."

An incredible bowling performance!! pic.twitter.com/znY1fhpFlg

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England had to work to do after not firing on all cylinders with the bat, but Jacks said their recent T20 series win in Sri Lanka gave them the confidence they needed with the ball.

"We are buzzing. At the halfway stage, we were pleased to get to 146-9, but we knew we had to bowl well," Jacks added, after England racked up a 12th straight win over their opponents in the format.

"We had a brilliant start in the powerplay and managed to continue taking wickets throughout.

"We seem to do well here. We came off a series win against Sri Lanka here. We knew the conditions well. It suits our spinners. We were able to squeak every dot out which makes chase difficult.

"I love getting the responsibility with the ball. It encourages me to get into the game and perform better. It's not foreign for me. And with a surface like that, I come in knowing what to do.

"It's about trusting your game. We know we are good enough and we know if we play with our freedom and unity, more often we will be in the right position."

Sri Lanka collapsed to 34-5 in the powerplay, and ultimately were rolled over in just 16.4 overs.

Captain Dasun Shanaka, who top-scored for them with 30, said there were a multitude of reasons for their poor showing with the bat, and acknowledged how tricky it will be for Sri Lanka to recover.

"It's very disappointing but we had lots of positives with the ball. We kept them to a score 20 runs less than par and I expected my players to bat well," he said.

"It (the batting collapse) was a combination. I think the pitch played well, it was slow but it settled a bit. We played badly with the bat and the bowlers bowled well. We played some rash shots in critical intervals.

"In this World Cup we tried with five main bowlers so it's a nice attack to have, meaning we can restrict sides to lower scores. The discussion was to take it deep and taking positive, right options.

"It's one bad game which isn't affordable in a World Cup so we need to bounce back. The top order have done well in recent games so I'm sure they will do well in the coming games."