Wiping away the disgrace of a long string of defeats, the Sri Lankan team achieved a brilliant victory yesterday at the Rawalpindi Stadium in Pakistan, defeating the formidable England side.
In this match part of a triangular ODI tournament featuring Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and England Sri Lanka managed to defeat the strong English team by two wickets, with just one ball to spare. Batting first, England posted a challenging total of 429 runs for the loss of 4 wickets, setting a daunting target for Sri Lanka. During the innings, England captain Harry Brook delivered an exceptional batting performance, scoring 202 runs off just 116 balls.
England reached 429 runs for the loss of 4 wickets within their allotted 50 overs. Key contributions came from Joe Root (69), Will Jacks (66), and Tom Banton (50). In the bowling department, Dunith Wellalage took 2 wickets for 56 runs, Asitha Fernando 1 for 68, and Janith Liyanage 1 for 32.
In their reply, the Sri Lankan team secured victory by scoring 430 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 49.5 overs. With the bat, Pavan Rathnayake scored 130 runs off 106 balls, Dasun Shanaka scored 97 runs off 50 balls, and Avishka Fernando scored 97 runs off 80 balls. Additionally, Janith Liyanage remained unbeaten on 61 runs.
For England, Josh Tongue (3/79) and Sam Curran (2/103) delivered notable bowling performances.