England captain Harry Brook made history by scoring the fastest double-century in One-Day International (ODI) cricket, but his record-breaking innings could not prevent Sri Lanka from securing a thrilling two-wicket victory in their tri-series match on Thursday. Sri Lanka chased down a target of 430 with one ball remaining, leaving England at the bottom of the standings after two defeats.Brook reached his double-century in just 114 balls, breaking the previous record of 117 deliveries held by India’s Shubman Gill. The 27-year-old also became the first English batter to score an ODI double-century, surpassing Ben Stokes’ previous national record of 182 runs.He smashed 202 runs off 116 balls, hitting 21 fours and 10 sixes before being caught by Sahan Arachchige off Janith Liyanage on the final ball of England’s innings. Joe Root also contributed with 69 runs off 66 balls as England posted a massive 429-4.Brook, however, was disappointed that his historic achievement ended in defeat.“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.“Heart-breaking. 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.
Sri Lanka pull off historic run chase
Sri Lanka produced a remarkable batting display to complete the second-highest successful run chase in ODI history. Pavan Rathnayake led the charge with 130 off 106 balls, while Avishka Fernando and Dasun Shanaka both missed their centuries by just three runs.Sri Lanka needed six runs from the final two balls when Liyanage hit Josh Tongue for a six over long-off to seal victory with one delivery remaining. Tongue finished as England’s leading wicket-taker with 3-79.Brook praised Sri Lanka’s performance and admitted England failed to execute their bowling plans.“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 …”England, who lost to Pakistan by 87 runs on Tuesday, now need to win their remaining two matches to keep their hopes of reaching the final in Lahore alive.“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.”
