Sri Lanka stunned England by chasing down 430 runs to win the third match of the tri-series in Pakistan by two wickets. Janith Liyanage hit a maximum on the penultimate ball to secure the victory. Harry Brook scored 202, but his effort went in vain during this historic ODI chase.
It came down to the penultimate ball of the game. Sri Lanka needed six from two balls, and then Janith Liyanage hit a maximum to pull off an incredible night in ODI cricket. Sri Lanka stunned England by chasing down 430 runs and winning the third match of the tri-series in Pakistan by two wickets.
This meant that the Lankan Lions went past India's incredible win in Guwahati last month against the West Indies to record the second-highest run chase in ODI history as England captain's 202 went in vain. Powered by an incredible 130 by Pavan Rathnayake and a 97 from Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka pushed the game all the way as the English bowlers failed to contain the onslaught in Rawalpindi.
There was drama in the final over as Josh Tongue gave England hope by picking back-to-back wickets Dunith Wellalage and Eshan Malinga, but Liyanage remained unbeaten on 61 off 27 balls to pull off one of the greatest wins in ODI history.
Earlier on in the day, Harry Brook scored the fastest double hundred in the history of ODIs, going past the record set by Shubman Gill last month. At that point, Kusal Mendis felt that he made a mistake by allowing England to bat first in Rawalpindi. However, he was soon vindicated as heavy dew came to the help of Sri Lanka.
The Lankan Lions were reeling at one point, being reduced to 24 for two in 4.2 overs while chasing the mammoth total. But Rathnayake had other ideas. First, he set up a 166-run stand with Avishka Fernando, who scored 97 off 83 balls to keep their side in the hunt.
Then Rathnayake tore into the bowlers with the help of Dasun Shanaka, who hit 97 off just 50 balls, with his innings being laced with six fours and eight sixes. Rathnayake himself hit 15 boundaries and three sixes on his way to 130 off 106 balls to get his side close to the win.
The finishing touches came from Liyanage, who hit seven fours and three sixes during his whirlwind knock that left Brook and England stunned at the end.