Sri Lanka Chase Down 430 to Beat England in Rawalpindi Epic

RAWALPINDI: Sri Lanka pulled off the second-highest successful run chase in one-day international history on Thursday, hunting down England's 429 for 4 to win by two wickets with one ball to spare in an 859-run epic at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The result left Harry Brook's record-breaking 202 on the losing side and dramatically reshaped the Pakistan-hosted ODI tri-series — with Pakistan, watching from Lahore, suddenly looking at a very different final race.

Chasing a target of 430 — a score that has never been successfully chased in ODI history except once — Sri Lanka reached 430 for 8 in 49.5 overs, sealed when Janith Liyanage launched Josh Tongue over long-off for six off the penultimate ball. Only South Africa's fabled 438 for 9 against Australia at Johannesburg in 2006 now sits above this chase on the all-time list.

The night also produced the fastest double century in ODI history, as Brook's 202 came off just 116 balls. It was the first ODI double hundred by an England batter, and the highest individual ODI score ever made for England. Brook's verdict on it at the presentation was brutal in its honesty: "It [his 202] was a nice innings. Unfortunately it doesn't mean anything now being on the losing side. It has no value whatsoever."

Brook's historic double century comes in a losing cause

When Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis won the toss and chose to bowl first on a clear Rawalpindi day-night, he could not have imagined the storm about to hit his attack. Brook walked in at number four and produced an innings for the ages: 202 from 116 balls, with 21 fours and 10 sixes at a strike rate of 174.14. He reached his double hundred in just 114 balls, shattering the record set last month by India's Shubman Gill, who had needed 117 balls against the West Indies at Guwahati. Gill and Brook are now the only two batters to reach an ODI double century in under 120 balls.

Brook became only the second non-opener to score a double hundred in ODIs, and his assault turned the last 10 overs into carnage — his stand with Will Jacks added an astonishing 185 runs in just 77 balls, with Jacks finishing unbeaten on 66 off 30. Joe Root contributed 69 off 66, Tom Banton made 50 off 51 and Ben Duckett 29 off 39 as England powered to 429 for 4 — their eighth total in excess of 400 in the format. The fall of wickets tells the story of Brook's one-man show: England were 244 for 3 when Root departed in the 38th over, and still doubled the score by the end.

"It was an incredible game of cricket. I thought both sides were exceptional but Sri Lanka just outplayed us unfortunately," Brook said. "We didn't hit our straps with the ball and played to their strengths a little bit. Fair play to them for an incredible achievement."

The chase: 430, and never truly out of reach

Sri Lanka's pursuit began in disaster. They lost both openers inside the first five overs with just 24 on the board — Kamindu Mendis falling for 18 and captain Kusal Mendis run out without facing a ball, via Gus Atkinson's fingertips. What followed was one of the great ODI counterattacks.

Pavan Rathnayake joined Avishka Fernando and the pair launched into the England bowlers, raising 166 runs off just 137 deliveries for the third wicket, both batters bringing up half-centuries amid the assault. Jamie Overton finally broke the stand on the first delivery of the 28th over, taking Fernando caught and bowled for 97 off 83 balls with 11 fours and two sixes.

That brought Dasun Shanaka to the crease at number five, and the experienced all-rounder kept the tempo ferocious alongside Rathnayake in a 133-run fourth-wicket partnership, during which Rathnayake converted his fifty into his second ODI century. By the end of the 33rd over Sri Lanka had reached 239 for 3, still needing 191 from 102 balls — the required rate had barely budged all evening, helped by the heavy dew that settled on the Rawalpindi outfield and made gripping the ball a nightmare for England's bowlers.

Rathnayake was eventually dismissed for a magnificent 130 off 106 balls, with 15 fours and three sixes — the innings that would earn him Player of the Match — while Shanaka's 97 came off just 50 deliveries, a strike rate that kept Sri Lanka believing when 400-plus still loomed.

The finish: Tongue's yorkers, then Liyanage's six

The final act was pure theatre. With Sri Lanka 402 for 5 and 28 needed from the last 20 balls, England sniffed a miracle comeback. Sahan Arachchige attempted to clear the rope off a waist-high Sam Curran full toss but was caught on the boundary, leaving 24 required from 18 deliveries. Then Josh Tongue — England's best bowler on the night with 3 for 79 — produced two perfect yorkers with successive balls, pinning Dunith Wellalage and Eshan Malinga to leave Sri Lanka eight down with seven still needed.

Enter number ten Asitha Fernando, who did the one job asked of him: a single that got Janith Liyanage back on strike. Six were needed off the final two balls. Liyanage, unbeaten on 61 from just 27 balls, cleared his front leg and deposited Tongue over long-off for six — Rawalpindi erupted, and Sri Lanka had won with a ball to spare. The winning hit was the exclamation point on a chase that will be talked about for decades: 430 for 8, the second-highest successful chase the ODI game has ever seen.

Records that fell at Rawalpindi

• 430 for 8 — the second-highest successful run chase in ODI history, behind only South Africa's 438 for 9 against Australia (Johannesburg, 2006). It is also Sri Lanka's highest successful chase.
• Brook's 202 off 116 — the fastest ODI double century ever (200 in 114 balls), breaking Shubman Gill's 117-ball record from last month. The first double hundred by an England batter and the highest individual ODI score for England.
• 859 runs in 99.5 overs — one of the highest aggregate matches in ODI history, a genuine 50-over shootout.
• Rathnayake's 130 — his second ODI century, and the Player of the Match award for anchoring a chase of 430.
• Brook's 202 is the biggest individual innings in a losing ODI cause in recent memory — and the England captain said it plainly: "We have to go back to the drawing board a little bit. We know where we have gone wrong - we didn't execute well enough with the ball."

What this means for Pakistan's road to the final

For Pakistan, this result is both a warning and an opportunity. The tri-series table now reads: Pakistan top with 4 points and a net run rate of +1.240 from two wins; Sri Lanka second with 2 points (-0.348); England bottom with 0 points (-0.892) after two defeats. England's situation is now desperate — they must win both remaining games, against Pakistan on October 25 and Sri Lanka on October 29, to stand any chance of reaching the October 31 final.

Pakistan's camp, meanwhile, is in fine spirits. Bowling coach Shaun Tait told PCB Digital in Lahore on Thursday that he was delighted with the attack's start to the series — "a nice balance between pace and spin, and both departments are complementing each other really well" — after the 37-run win over Sri Lanka and the 87-run demolition of England. Tait, in his second stint with the side, praised the familiar pace group of Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Faheem Ashraf, and credited the domestic first-class matches played before the series for getting the quicks match-ready.

The Pakistan squad arrived in Lahore from Rawalpindi on Wednesday evening, took Thursday off, and resumes training on Friday ahead of Sunday's meeting with England — which will be played in special pink kits for Breast Cancer Awareness. That game is now enormous: an England side with nothing left to lose, a Pakistan side chasing a third straight win and one foot in the final, and a Lahore crowd expecting a spectacle.

There is a warning in Thursday's scorecard for Pakistan's bowlers too. Sri Lanka's batting, dismissed for 268 by Pakistan in the tournament opener, has now produced the second-greatest chase in ODI history. When Pakistan meet them again at the Gaddafi Stadium on October 27, they will not be facing the same timid side — they will be facing a team that genuinely believes no total is too big. And with dew already deciding one game in this series, the toss on October 25 could matter more than anyone expected a week ago.

Remaining tri-series fixtures

• October 25: Pakistan vs England, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore (1:00 PM PKT) — the pink-kits Breast Cancer Awareness game
• October 27: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
• October 29: Sri Lanka vs England, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
• October 31: Final, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

The bottom line

Rawalpindi witnessed one of the greatest ODI matches ever played: a record double century, a 430 chase, 859 runs, and a finish settled by one six off the penultimate ball. For Sri Lanka, it is a famous victory that keeps their final hopes alive. For England, it is a defeat that will sting for a long time — Brook's 202, an innings that would normally define a career, now sits in the record books with an asterisk no batter wants: scored in a losing cause. And for Pakistan, sitting top of the table and watching from Lahore, the message from Thursday night could not be clearer — this tri-series is about to get very serious.

Related on Cric Sports Daily: Tri-Series 2026 Final Race: Points Table, NRR and Every Scenario · Pakistan to Wear Pink Jerseys Against England for Breast Cancer Awareness · Pakistan Beat England by 87 Runs: Minhas Magic at Rawalpindi

Sources: ESPNcricinfo match scorecard and match report; Sky Sports; Geo Super; Cricket World; CricTracker points table; Sportskeeda; Latestly; IANS.