Ratnayake and Fernando Fuel Sri Lanka's Historic Chase

A thrilling tri-series encounter in Rawalpindi ended with Sri Lanka completing a record-level run chase against England on Thursday. Set a target of 430, the hosts reached the total with one ball remaining and just two wickets down, in a contest that yielded 859 runs in total.

England were sent in after losing the toss, and Harry Brook's 202 was the centrepiece of their innings. He anchored the batting as England finished on 429 for the loss of four wickets, leaving Sri Lanka with an enormous mountain to climb.

Sri Lanka lost two wickets inside the first few overs, with the score at just 24 at that stage. Pavan Rathnayake and Avishka Fernando then rebuilt the innings, sharing a third-wicket stand of 166. Fernando's 97 was followed by Rathnayake's 130, a knock that kept the chase alive.

Dasun Shanaka joined Rathnayake to add 133 runs for the fourth wicket, pushing the total to 323. Shanaka's 97 came off 50 balls with eight sixes and six fours, injecting urgency into the chase. Janith Liyanage then finished the job with an unbeaten 61 off 27 deliveries.

The match stands as the second-highest successful ODI run chase in history, behind South Africa's 435 against Australia in Johannesburg in 2006. The 872-run aggregate from that same 2006 contest remains the highest total runs in a single ODI.

In the tri-series standings, Pakistan leads after winning both opening matches, while Sri Lanka sits second with one win from two games. England, having lost both of its opening matches, is third.