Pakistan ODI Tri-Series — Match Report
Rathnayake Ton Powers Sri Lanka's Record 430 Chase Against England
By NajamSports Team | October 22, 2026
Sri Lanka pulled off the second-highest successful chase in ODI history at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday, hunting down 430 to beat England by two wickets with one ball to spare. Set a mountain after Harry Brook's record-breaking 202, Sri Lanka finished on 430 for 8 in 49.5 overs, powered by Pavan Rathnayake's 130 and twin scores of 97 from Avishka Fernando and Dasun Shanaka. It is Sri Lanka's highest successful chase in one-day cricket — only South Africa's famous 438 against Australia in 2006 sits above it on the all-time list.
England will wonder how they lost this. Their 429 for 4 was the highest ODI total ever posted on Pakistan soil, passing Pakistan's 375 for 3 against Zimbabwe in Lahore in 2015, and it was built on an innings for the ages from their captain. Brook's 202 off 116 balls, with 21 fours and 10 sixes, was the fastest double century in ODI history — he reached 200 in 114 balls — the first double hundred by an England batter, and it made him only the second man after Chris Gayle to hold a Test triple century, an ODI double century and a T20I hundred. Joe Root's 69 off 66 carried him past 8,000 ODI runs, the first England player to that mark, and Will Jacks clubbed an unbeaten 66 off 30 as England took 185 runs off the last 13 overs (read our full report on Brook's record 202 here). Dunith Wellalage, with 2 for 56, was the only Sri Lanka bowler to go at under six an over, and Brook fell to Janith Liyanage off the very last ball of the innings.
The chase began like a collapse. Josh Tongue bowled Kamindu Mendis for 18 and captain Kusal Mendis was run out by Gus Atkinson without facing a ball, leaving Sri Lanka 24 for 2 inside five overs with 406 still needed. Fernando and Rathnayake answered with a counterattack that changed the match: a 166-run stand off 137 balls for the third wicket, both men passing fifty, before Jamie Overton broke it with the first ball of the 28th over, Fernando caught and bowled for 97 off 83 (11 fours, two sixes), three short of a hundred he had earned.
Rathnayake did not slow down. He added 133 off 79 balls with Shanaka and brought up his second ODI century — he had already made 79 against Pakistan in the series opener — before Sam Curran removed him in the 41st over for 130 off 106 (15 fours, three sixes). Shanaka's 97 off 50 balls, studded with eight sixes, ended at 363 for 5 when Liam Dawson struck, with 67 still needed off 36 balls, and the game tilted again. Janith Liyanage seized it back, blasting 61 not out off 27, and even a final-over scare — Tongue bowling Wellalage and Eshan Malinga with consecutive balls to leave seven needed off three — could not stop him: a six and a single later, Sri Lanka were home with a ball unused. Tongue's 3 for 79 was England's best return, while Curran's two wickets cost 103 runs.
Brief scores: England 429/4 in 50 overs (Brook 202, Root 69, Jacks 66*, Banton 50; Wellalage 2/56) lost to Sri Lanka 430/8 in 49.5 overs (Rathnayake 130, Fernando 97, Shanaka 97, Liyanage 61*; Tongue 3/79, Curran 2/103) by 2 wickets. Player of the Match: Pavan Rathnayake. Match aggregate: 859 runs, 30 sixes.
The points table now reads like a warning for England. Pakistan stay top with two wins from two and a net run rate of +1.240 — the same Pakistan side that beat England by 87 runs on Tuesday ( read that report). Sri Lanka's first points lift them to second despite a net run rate of −0.348, while England sit bottom with no points and −0.892. With only the top two reaching the October 31 final, England must now win both of their remaining matches to survive.
My Analysis
For me, this match is the cleanest proof in modern ODI cricket that depth beats one monument. Brook scored 47 per cent of England's runs in one of the greatest innings the format has seen, and it still was not enough, because Sri Lanka never asked one man to do everything. Fernando set the tempo at 117 runs per hundred balls, Rathnayake batted through the middle overs without ever letting the rate climb past reach, and Shanaka and Liyanage supplied the end-overs violence. Five Sri Lanka batters faced the pressure in turns; England's total rested on one pair of shoulders.
England's selection is the other half of the story. They left out Adil Rashid — their one proven middle-overs controller — and brought in Liam Dawson and Josh Tongue, and on the flattest pitch of this series that gamble was exposed. Sri Lanka hit 17 sixes, Curran's nine overs disappeared for 103, and between the 28th and 41st overs Rathnayake and Shanaka scored at nearly ten an over against an attack with no wicket-taking spin threat. Tongue almost rescued England at the death with two wickets in two balls in the final over, but a chase is rarely lost in the 50th over — England lost this one in the middle 20. Questions were already being asked about England's bowling balance in our match preview; Thursday gave the harshest possible answer.
Rathnayake deserves the last word in this section. A week ago he was a promising name at No. 4; he now has 79 against Pakistan and a match-winning 130 in the second-biggest chase the game has seen, scored at a strike rate of 123 without slogging. Sri Lanka's decision to field first looked like a blunder at the innings break. Because of Rathnayake's calm, it will be remembered as a masterstroke.
My Prediction
The series moves to Lahore now: Pakistan face England at the Gaddafi Stadium on October 25, Pakistan play Sri Lanka on October 27, and England meet Sri Lanka again on October 29, all before the final on October 31. Pakistan need one more win to be certain of the final, and I expect them to get it on Sunday — England's attack has failed to defend 429 and been bowled out chasing 303 in the space of three days, and unless Rashid returns and changes the middle overs, Lahore's batting track will ask them the same questions Rawalpindi did. That would leave England vs Sri Lanka on October 29 as a straight shootout for the second final place, and on the evidence of this chase — the temperament, not just the hitting — I make Sri Lanka slight favourites to win it and set up a Pakistan vs Sri Lanka final.
Who joins Pakistan in the October 31 final — England or Sri Lanka? Predict in the comments below.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest successful run chase in ODI history?
South Africa's 438 against Australia at Johannesburg in 2006 remains the highest. Sri Lanka's 430 against England in Rawalpindi is now the second-highest successful chase ever, and Sri Lanka's highest.
Who was Player of the Match in Sri Lanka vs England?
Pavan Rathnayake, for his 130 off 106 balls — 15 fours and three sixes — which anchored Sri Lanka's chase of 430.
How fast was Harry Brook's double century?
Brook reached 200 in 114 balls, the fastest double century in ODI history, and finished with 202 off 116. It was the first ODI double hundred by an England player.
What was England's 429 for 4 a record for?
It is the highest ODI total ever scored in Pakistan, beating Pakistan's 375 for 3 against Zimbabwe in Lahore in 2015. Sri Lanka still chased it down.
What does this result mean for the tri-series points table?
Pakistan lead with two wins from two. Sri Lanka are second with their first points; England are bottom with none and must win both remaining matches — against Pakistan on October 25 and Sri Lanka on October 29 — to reach the final.
When is the next match of the Pakistan ODI Tri-Series?
Pakistan play England at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on Sunday, October 25, starting 1:00 PM PKT. Sri Lanka's next game is against Pakistan at the same venue on October 27.
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Sources: ESPNcricinfo match scorecard (England vs Sri Lanka, 3rd Match, Pakistan ODI Tri-Series); match reports by Geo Super and A-Sports.