A record-breaking batting effort from Harry Brook and Joe Root handed England a massive 357/3 in 50 overs against Sri Lanka in the do-or-die third ODI. Toss win and bat-first decision paid rich dividends in Colombo, where the pair’s centuries lit up the Colombo evening.
After a top-order wobble – Duckett 7 (19 runs), Ahmed 24 (40 runs) – Root and Bethell rebuilt with 126 runs. Bethell’s lively 65 (72 balls, 8×4) ended at 166, paving the way for Brook’s mayhem.
Brook’s explosive 136* (66 balls, 11×4, 9×6) featured his quickest ODI fifty (40 balls) and third ton (57 balls), his career-best. Root complemented with 111* (108 balls, 9×4, 1×6), his 20th ODI hundred, in a match-winning 191-run blitz.
Sri Lanka’s attack crumbled under pressure. Fernando hemorrhaged 77 in 9 overs, Hasaranga and Vandersay 76 apiece in 10, contrasting Liyanage’s tight 7/3 spell.
With series poised at 1-1, England’s total presents a stern test. The hosts chased down big scores before, but Brook and Root’s form suggests England hold the aces. Expect a tense second innings as Sri Lanka battles to level the series.