Every Boundary! Head’s gutsy 121 | 03:43
Josh Higgins and AFP from Fox SportsOctober 23rd, 2026 7:05 am
Janith Liyanage smashed a six off the penultimate ball as Sri Lanka completed the second-highest successful run chase in ODI history, scoring 430-8 to beat England in Rawalpindi on Thursday.
Needing eight to win off the last over, Sri Lanka lost two wickets to paceman Josh Tongue, but Liyanage kept his cool to achieve an astonishing victory and overshadow Harry Brook’s record-setting knock.
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The England captain hit 202 off 116 balls
The England captain hit 202 off 116 balls to propel his team to a mammoth 429-4 after they were put in to bat.
Batters thoroughly dominated in Rawalpindi as Brook also hit the first ODI double century by an England player. However, Sri Lanka proved up to the challenge as Pavan Rathnayake scored 130, with Avishka Fernando and Dasun Shanaka both making 97.
Liyanage then led them over the line with a blistering 61 not out off 27 balls. Sri Lanka slid to 24-2 before Rathnayake and Avishka set about transforming the innings, putting on 166 for the third wicket.
Rathnayake then combined with Shanaka to lift
Rathnayake then combined with Shanaka to lift the tempo with a rapid 133-run stand off just 79 balls, to give Sri Lanka genuinehope.
Rathnayake hit 15 fours and three sixes while Shanaka’s blazing knock featured eight sixes and six fours, as Sri Lanka delivereda powerful response to Brook’s earlier masterclass.
Sri Lankan skipper Kusal Mendis was delighted at victory.
“I’m very happy as a captain,” said Mendis.
“Everyone believed we can do it. Every day we talk about showing the characterin team meetings, and it’s about showing we can get any score.”
Brook’s innings was the fastest-ever ODI double century.
What makes the innings even more remarkable
What makes the innings even more remarkable is that Brook was sitting on just 13 runs from 24 balls before absolutely exploding with the bat.
And in the process, he’s rewritten the record books.
Brook now holds the highest individual score by an English batter in men’s ODI cricket, surpassing Ben Stokes’ previous record of 182 against New Zealand in 2023.
He also brought up his double-century from just 114 balls, breaking the previous record of 117 balls held by Shubman Gill.
Incredible game of cricket, both teams were exceptional
“Incredible game of cricket, both teams were exceptional. They played exceptional cricket to knock off 400,” said Brook, downplaying his double hundred.
“It was a nice innings but being on the losing side it has no value whatsoever in my eyes.”
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Brook has now joined Chris Gayle as the only two players to have scored a triple-century in Test cricket, a double-century in ODIs and a century in T20 cricket.
The 27-year-old has put together an impressive ODI
The 27-year-old has put together an impressive ODI career for England across his 46 matches, averaging 41.35 with a strike rate of 109.86.
He’s also registered eight half-centuries and four centuries in that time, despite still only being 27 years of age.
England’s final total of 4-429 is the fourth-highest score in their ODI history, with their record remaining the incredible 4-498 they posted against the Netherlands in 2022.
And whilst Brook led the way, he had plenty of support from his teammates.
Joe Root finished with 69 runs from 66
Joe Root finished with 69 runs from 66 balls, whilst Will Jacks smashed 66 runs from just 30 balls and Tom Banton added 50 runs from 51 balls.
The match is the third of the Pakistan ODI Tri-Series, featuring England, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Source: www.foxsports.com.au
