Sri Lanka secured an extraordinary two-wicket victory over England after successfully chasing down a formidable target of 430 runs in the third match of the tri-series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The high-scoring match yielded 859 runs in total and concluded with just one ball remaining in the 50th over. This result marks the highest successful run chase in Sri Lanka’s One Day International history and the second-highest in the history of ODI cricket worldwide.
After losing the toss and being put in to bat, England posted a massive total of 429 for 4 in their allotted 50 overs. Captain Harry Brook led the assault by becoming the first English batter to score an ODI double century, smashing 202 runs off just 116 balls with 21 fours and 10 sixes. England’s innings was further bolstered by rapid half-centuries from Tom Banton (50), Joe Root (69), and Will Jacks (66 not out), alongside 29 runs from opener Ben Duckett. During his innings, Root completed 8,000 runs in his ODI career. Dunith Wellalage was the standout bowler for Sri Lanka, taking 2 for 56.
Sri Lanka faced an early setback in their historic chase, but player of the match Pawan Rathnayake brought them back into contention with a decisive 130 runs off 106 balls, including 15 boundaries and 3 sixes. He received strong support from Pathum Nissanka / Avishka Fernando, who hit 97 off 83 balls with 11 fours and 2 sixes, and late-order batter Dasun Shanaka, who smashed a 50-ball 97 featuring 6 fours and 8 sixes. Both batters fell just three runs short of their centuries. With the match coming down to the wire, Janith Liyanage anchored the final stretch with an unbeaten 61 off 27 balls, carrying Sri Lanka to 430 for 8 in 49.5 overs. For England, Josh Tongue took 3 wickets for 79 runs, while Sam Curran claimed 2 for 103.
Match Summary
- England429/4 in 50 overs (Harry Brook 202, Joe Root 69, Will Jacks 66*, Tom Banton 50; Dunith Wellalage 2/56)
- Sri Lanka430/8 in 49.5 overs (Pawan Rathnayake 130, Avishka Fernando 97, Dasun Shanaka 97, Janith Liyanage 61*; Josh Tongue 3/79, Sam Curran 2/103)
- ResultSri Lanka won by 2 wickets
- Player of the MatchPawan Rathnayake
