At the halfway stage, most people would have given Sri Lanka no chance. The ask was a herculean 430, second only to the 438-9 South Africa peeled off versus Australia in Johannesburg in 2006 when it came to successful ODI run chases. But on a day when South Africa beat Australia once again - this time in a one-sided Test match in Gqeberha - Sri Lanka stunned England in a Rawalpindi run-fest.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player That meant Harry Brook's astonishing 202 from 116 balls, during which he reached 200 from 114 deliveries to set a new record for the fastest ODI double ton, came in vain. So where exactly did things go wrong for England? Not with the batting, obviously, as Brook's sizzling knock - the highest for England in a men's ODI, eclipsing the 182 Ben Stokes scored against New Zealand in 2023 - was backed up by half-centuries from Tom Banton, Joe Root and Will Jacks.
The bowling was the issue with Sri Lanka rallying from 24-2 once Kamindu Mendis had been bowled by a beauty from Josh Tongue and captain Kusal Mendis was run out backing up without facing a ball after Gus Atkinson tipped on to the non-striker's stumps. Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain noted how England overcompensated from bowling too full during their 87-run defeat to Pakistan at the same venue on Tuesday by dropping too short, particularly to Pavan Rathnayake, who top-scored with 130 from 106 balls. The former England captain also lamented his country's long-standing issue of middle-overs wickets, with only one taken between Kusal's run out in the fifth over and Rathnayake holing out off the expensive Sam Curran at long-on in the 41st.
Rathnayake put on 166 with Avishka Fernando for the third wicket and then 133 with the wisely-promoted Dasun Shanaka for the fourth - both of his team-mates made 97. Hussain said of the wicketless woes: "It comes from that middle period where England, historically, over the last two or three years, have struggled to take wickets. "That is even with Adil Rashid, who did not play in this game, at his best, so that is something they need to solve, a box they need to tick.
Getting back Jofra Archer, rested for this series, will help and add a bit of firepower. "Maybe Adil has come off his best but today showed the need for Archer, and Rashid being back to his best. We all big up Adil but he has just dropped off, maybe because of injuries." Former Sri Lanka batter and Hussain's fellow Sky Sports pundit Kumar Sangakkara said: "England needed an all-out push to take wickets when they had Sri Lanka 24-2.
You have 429 on the board. "Have set plays, try to bowl the bumpers, fielders set for catches - of if you want to restrict because conditions are not suitable for wickets, then go to death bowling early, try to cut off the boundaries. "The only way they were going to lose the game was by the boundary count rising.
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