Harry Brook etched his name into the record books with a magnificent, maiden One-Day International double hundred, yet finished on the losing side of an astonishing 859-run match as Sri Lanka completed the second-highest run chase in the history of the format in Rawalpindi.
In a match that pushed bowlers to their absolute limits on a scorching afternoon, Sri Lanka overhauled England’s imposing total of 429 for 4 with a ball to spare, sealing a dramatic two-wicket victory. The high-scoring thriller was spearheaded by Pavan Rathnayake’s brilliant 130, vital 97s from Avishka Fernando and Dasun Shanaka, and a scintillating, unbeaten cameo of 61 off just 27 balls from Janith Liyanage.
Kusal Mendis, leading the Sri Lankan side, may have initially questioned his own decision to insert England into bat after winning the toss. His opposite number, Brook, dismantled the Sri Lankan attack with a masterclass in white-ball batting, reaching his double century in 114 balls and breaking the previous record set just a month earlier by India’s Shubman Gill. Mendis’s afternoon went from difficult to disastrous during the run chase when he was run out without facing a single delivery, courtesy of Gus Atkinson’s fingertips, leaving Sri Lanka reeling at 2-2 in the fifth over.
However, Mendis’s decision to bowl first was ultimately vindicated as evening conditions changed dramatically. Heavy dew rolled into Rawalpindi, making gripping the ball nearly impossible for the England attack and aiding Sri Lanka’s historic chase under the lights. Josh Tongue threatened to spoil the party for the visitors by yorking both Dunith Wellalage and Eshan Malinga with consecutive deliveries in the final stages. With six runs required from the final two balls, number ten batsman Asitha Fernando managed to rotate the strike, bringing Liyanage back on strike. Liyanage duly launched Tongue over long-off to spark wild scenes of celebration as Sri Lankan players raced onto the outfield.
Liyanage had already begun celebrating the moment the ball left his bat. Walking in at number seven with his side still needing 107 runs from 58 balls, he produced a masterclass in finishing. He struck seven fours and three sixes—including taking 18 runs from an over bowled by the beleaguered Sam Curran—while facing only two dot balls.
For Brook and England, the defeat marked their second loss in three days during the ongoing tri-series, leaving the tourists visibly shellshocked. Reflecting on the contest, Brook admitted that both teams played exceptional cricket but conceded that Sri Lanka ultimately outplayed them. He noted that England failed to hit their straps with the ball and inadvertently played into their opponents’ strengths, adding that successfully chasing down a total in excess of 400 was an incredible achievement that deserved full credit.
Despite his individual brilliance, Brook became the first male player in ODI history to score a double century and end up on the losing side. Visibly exhausted after batting for two and a half hours in the afternoon heat, the English batter remarked that the milestone held no personal value given the final result. His innings was nothing short of breathtaking, featuring an array of audacious strokes, including scoops, reverse-scoops, pick-up shots, and flat-bats. Brook shared crucial partnerships worth 159 runs with Joe Root and 185 runs with Will Jacks, thoroughly demoralising the Sri Lankan bowling unit before reaching his double hundred via a deft paddle-sweep for four in the final over of the innings.
With the milestone, Brook joined an elite group as only the second man to complete an all-format ‘3-2-1’ milestone after legendary West Indian Chris Gayle, having now recorded a Test triple-century, an ODI double-hundred, and a T20I century. After a relatively cautious start that yielded just 13 runs from his first 24 balls, Brook accelerated dramatically by hitting consecutive sixes off Kamindu Mendis’s part-time spin. He reached his fifty off 42 balls, his hundred off 75, his 150 off 97, and his double century off 114 deliveries, accelerating so swiftly that his second hundred came from just 39 balls.
At the halfway stage, Sri Lanka’s tactical decision to play only four frontline bowlers and rely on all-rounders to cover the remaining overs appeared to be a significant gamble. Mendis, Shanaka, and Liyanage combined for figures of 1 for 123 from their respective shares of the fifth-bowler quota, and Brook ruthlessly targeted them, adding 156 runs alongside Jacks in the final ten overs alone. Root contributed a solid 69, Jacks added an unbeaten 66, and Ben Banton chipped in with 50 to anchor England’s massive total.
The massive run chase began disastrously for Sri Lanka when Avishka Fernando was initially given out lbw with the score on 38 for 3. However, a successful review reprieved him, and he went on to forge a crucial 166-run partnership with Rathnayake. Fernando fell just three runs short of a century when he chipped a catch back to Jamie Overton, but Shanaka arrived at number five with aggressive intent, adding 133 runs in just 79 balls for the fourth wicket.
Shanaka survived two scares along the way—overturning decisions when given out caught behind off Atkinson on 32 and lbw to Liam Dawson on 41—fully justifying his promotion up the batting order. Rathnayake eventually departed for 130, recording his highest international score when he holed out to wide long-on off Curran. Shanaka, however, continued his onslaught, smashing six fours and eight sixes in a blistering 50-ball knock. He was eventually dismissed for 97, becoming the second Sri Lankan batter of the day to fall on that score when he was caught in the deep attempting to hit Dawson’s final delivery for a maximum.
With 67 runs needed from the final 36 balls, Liyanage took complete control of the situation. He hit three boundaries off an over from Overton before reverse-scooping, scything, and clubbing Curran for three more boundaries in succession. Curran struggled significantly with the wet ball as heavy dew took effect, and he was fortunate to have Sahan Arachchige caught at long-on from a high full toss that was ruled to be just below waist height. Curran finished with figures of 2 for 103 from nine overs, setting an unwanted record for the worst-ever bowling figures by an England bowler in an ODI.
As the match neared its dramatic conclusion, Liyanage and Wellalage kept the scoreboard moving with boundaries down the ground off Jacks, reducing the target to 13 runs from the final 12 balls. Overton bowled a tight penultimate over, conceding just five runs to leave eight needed. After Liyanage took a single from the first ball of the final over, Wellalage had his middle stump knocked out of the ground attempting a wild heave off Tongue, and Malinga was clean bowled by a searing yorker on his very first delivery.
With seven runs still needed from three balls and Tongue sitting on a hat-trick, number 11 Asitha Fernando—who had accumulated a total of just 19 runs across his previous 35 ODI appearances—managed to squeeze a single down to deep third man. This crucial piece of batting placed Liyanage back on the strike. Tongue set his field with deep protection on the leg side and brought mid-off up, but his slower delivery drifted into the slot, allowing Liyanage to launch it authoritatively back over the bowler’s head to seal a famous victory.
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