Sri Lanka has chased down 430 in a thrilling one-day clash against England despite Harry Brook scoring the fastest double-century in ODI history.
Brook’s double-century helped England post a mammoth score of 4-429 before Sri Lanka chased down the target with two wickets and one ball to spare.Â
Sri Lanka’s chase is the second-highest of all time in ODI cricket, trailing only South Africa’s chase of 435 against Australia in 2006.
The 27-year-old captain rewrote the record books by racing to his double hundred in 114 balls, surpassing the previous mark of 117 deliveries set by India’s Shubman Gill.
Brook’s double-century was the fastest of all time and he also eclipsed England’s highest individual ODI score of 182, previously held by Ben Stokes.
He made 202 from 116 deliveries, peppering the Sri Lanka attack with 21 fours and 10 sixes before departing to warm applause from the crowd.
The defeat leaves England bottom of the standings after losing both their matches, with Brook saying they need to win their next two games to reach the final in Lahore.
Harry Brook’s record-breaking double-century was ultimately in vain as Sri Lanka chased down the target of 430 with a ball to spare. (Getty Images: Sameer Ali)
“Unfortunately, it [the record] doesn’t matter now. I thought we were going to be in a good position but, unfortunately, it doesn’t even count,” Brook said after the game.
“Heartbreaking. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there. It’s very disappointing that we haven’t been able to defend 430, but that’s life, that’s cricket,” he added.
“You don’t see many teams chase down 430 and hats off to Sri Lanka. They’ve played exceptionally well. We couldn’t execute our skills enough with the ball and, again, they’ve just played an absolute blinder there.
“We’ll have a good chat about it now and over the next couple of days. We’ve got a good opportunity in the next couple of games to really try and get to that final in Lahore.”
Pavan Rathnayake top-scored for Sri Lanka with 130 from 106 deliveries, while opener Avishka Fernando and Dasun Shanaka both fell three runs short of centuries.
Needing six runs from the final two deliveries, Sri Lanka sealed victory when Janith Liyanage launched Josh Tongue over long-off for six, leaving Brook’s record-breaking innings all in vain.
Tongue was England’s most successful bowler with 3-79.
England lost by 87 runs at the same venue in Rawalpindi on Tuesday to Pakistan, who lead the table with two wins from two.
Reuters
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