The third match of the Pakistan ODI Tri-Series was won by Sri Lanka by the narrow margin of two wickets with just one ball left, having batted for a target of 430 runs from 49.5 overs in a thrilling contest held at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, on Thursday, October 22, 2026.
The English team scored 429 for 4 in their innings, where Harry Brook scored a double hundred. It was the second-highest run chase in ODI history.
Sri Lanka elected to bowl first when they won the toss and opted to bat under the lights, which turned out to be an expensive decision in most parts of the innings. Both the teams entered the match after losing the opening game of the series to the hosts, Pakistan; therefore, winning the match is important to keep their hopes alive for the final match. Brook captained England in the absence of their regular captains.
The batting effort of England was almost all the effort of Brook. He managed to score 202 runs off 116 balls and dominated the entire bowling attack of Sri Lanka. Other contributors were:
- Joe Root: 69 off 66 balls and provided “sublime platform” to England according to Cricinfo.
- Will Jacks: Unbeaten 66 after the fall of wickets of England.
- Tom Banton: 50 runs, while England were scoring quickly.
- Therefore, England managed to score 429 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in 50 overs. Dunith Wellalage was the most economical bowler for Sri Lanka, where he conceded 2 for 56 in 10 overs. On the contrary, Asitha Fernando conceded 68 runs in 10 overs.
The chasing side started off with a bang when Sri Lanka lost two wickets in the beginning, making the score 24 for 2. The match became almost over when Avishka Fernando got out on lbw, making the score 38 for 3. However, he overturned the decision and stayed to play, along with Pavan Rathnayake adding 166 runs for the team.
Later on, Rathnayake hit 130, and Fernando scored 97, missing out on a century. At this point in time, Sri Lanka scored 250 for 3 after 33.6 overs, with Rathnayake not out.
At 98 at the time of the drinks break.
Dasun Shanaka piled the pressure on England with his rapid-fire 97, while Janith Liyanage made some decisive strokes at the finish to score his unbeaten 61 off only 27 balls. Josh Tongue tried to salvage the English effort, taking 3 for 79 and dismissing Dunith Wellalage and Eshan Malinga with consecutive yorkers.
It was, nevertheless, Liyanage who provided the finishing touch by smiting a six over long-off in the last but one ball of the match. Heavy dew, which affected England's bowlers, was pointed out as an advantage for Sri Lankan batsmen by Cricinfo, while commentators called the game as one that gave comfortably the second-highest number of runs in an ODI.
The score card tells all about the match:
England: 429 for 4 in 50 overs (Brook 202, Root 69, Jacks 66*, Banton 50).
Sri Lanka: 430 for 8 in 49.5 overs (Rathnayake 130, Fernando 97, Shanaka 97, Liyanage 61*).
Best bowler: Tongue with 3 for 79 for England.
Result: Sri Lanka won the match by two wickets with one ball left, scoring two points in the tri-series.
This was a tough pill for England to swallow following such an excellent batting effort. Cricinfo observed that England squandered the double dose of genius from Brook, and their bowlers were unable to protect their score of 429 in dew-laden weather.
This is after the bowling department had received criticism since the England-Pakistan match, where they were bowled out for 215 runs in a game that they had lost big time, in a preview of the Sri Lanka match.
A victory for Sri Lanka means that they will have collected their first points of the competition while England still has zero points to their name. The match is significant in that it keeps the two nations in contention for the final.
England will once again lock horns with Sri Lanka in the sixth ODI of the tri-nation series on Thursday, October 29, at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. England are likely to make a couple of changes, with Liam Dawson expected to come into the playing eleven in place of Adil Rashid, and Sri Lanka are likely to bat first if they manage to win the toss.
