Sri Lanka Chase 430 to Beat England in Historic ODI WinSports

<h2>Chase of the ages</h2> Sri Lanka&#8217;s reply began in the worst possible fashion, slipping to 24 for 2 inside the first five overs. But Pavan Rathnayake and Avishka Fernando launched a spirited counterattack, putting on 166 runs for the third wicket from 137 deliveries to drag their side back into the contest.

Fernando fell for 97, caught off his own bowling by Jamie Overton, before Rathnayake combined with Dasun Shanaka for a rapid 133-run stand off just 79 balls. Rathnayake finished as Sri Lanka&#8217;s leading scorer with 130, striking 15 fours and three sixes, while Shanaka narrowly missed a century of his own, falling for 97 off 50 balls.

With 28 still needed from the last 20 balls, England sensed a dramatic turnaround when Sahan Arachchige was caught on the boundary and Dunith Wellalage fell to Josh Tongue with seven runs required. But Liyanage refused to buckle, finishing unbeaten on 61 off 27 balls and launching Tongue over long-off for the winning six.

<h2>A place in history</h2> Sri Lanka&#8217;s 430 now sits second on the all-time list of successful ODI chases, behind only South Africa&#8217;s famous 435 against Australia at Johannesburg in 2006. It moved above India&#8217;s chase of 406, set up by Shubman Gill&#8217;s 223 not out against the West Indies in Guwahati, which had stood as the second-highest until Thursday.

It is a bruising outcome for England, whose captain produced the biggest innings in their ODI history yet returned with no points from the match. Sri Lankan skipper Kusal Mendis said he was delighted with the character shown by his players.

&#8220;I&#8217;m very happy as a captain,&#8221; said Mendis. &#8220;Everyone believed we can do it. Every day we talk about showing the character in team meetings, and it&#8217;s about showing we can get any score.&#8221;

Brook, meanwhile, downplayed his record-breaking knock. &#8220;Incredible game of cricket, both teams were exceptional,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It was a nice innings but being on the losing side it has no value whatsoever in my eyes.&#8221; The win gives Sri Lanka their first points in the tri-series, which also features hosts Pakistan.