England scripted an inspirational series victory over Sri Lanka at the R Premedasa Stadium on January 27. Being 1-0 down, Harry Brook 136 vs SL powered England to their first-ever overseas ODI series win on the back of a 53-run hammering. Brook and Joe Root launched a scathing attack to challenge the dominance of the Sri Lankan spinners. Despite taking an early 1-0 lead, the home side had to bow down in front of Harry Brook 136 vs SL blitzkrieg.
Read on as we give you a quick rundown of some of the breathtaking highlights from the Harry Brook 136 vs SL series win triumph.
Fan Reactions From Harry Brook 136 vs SL Innings
England Innings Summary (357/3 in 50 overs)
England ended up on the right side of the toss and had no hesitation in making an early use of the fresh Premadasa deck. It was a sign of things to come as England made every opportunity count with the bat. England didn’t get off to the brightest of starts. The top order batters, wary of the impending threat from the Lankan spinners, made a watchful start with Rehan Ahmed, Ben Duckett, and Jacob Bethell chipping in with handy contributions of 24, 7, and 65, respectively. Wanindu Hasarana and Dhananjaya de Silva proved probing with the ball and kept the run flow in check for at least 15 overs.
But Harry Brook’s arrival completely changed the dynamics of the scoring rate. However, Brook took his time at the start and batted patiently alongside Root to give England some stability after the fall of 3 quick wickets. Root was more focused on rebuilding the innings, while Brook took the risky initiative of going after the bowlers.
As the innings progressed towards the 26th over, the batters began to increase the scoring tempo. By the time they reached the 40-over mark, the launchpad was set. England still had 7 wickets in the bank with the partnership between Root and Brook moving from strength to strength. At that moment, Brook and Co. made up their mind to unleash hell on the Lankan bowlers. Harry Brook 136 vs SL turned out to be the major highlight for England in the last 10 overs. The English skipper raced to his career-best of 136 in just 66 balls. There was no looking back for him, as he smashed the Lankan bowlers to all parts and spared no one who came in his way. He galloped ahead of the set Joe Root, who almost batted throughout the innings and also scored an outstanding 111 (108) to steer England to a towering first-innings total of 357/3.
Sri Lanka Innings Summary (304/10 in 46.4 overs)
Sri Lanka, after being peppered on the field left, right, and center were in no mood to surrender. Pathum Nisanka and Kamil Mishara provided just the start the home side was looking for to counter England’s brutal onslaught following a stellar Harry Brook 136 vs SL masterclass. The two Sri Lankan openers got into their work straight away and plundered 45 runs in the first 5 overs, forcing England to introduce spin early.
After getting off to an electrifying start, the brakes were eventually put on as Will Jacks became the first English bowler to register a breakthrough by dismissing Mishara ( 22 off 17) off a long hop. However, Sri Lanka were hardly fazed by that blow and kept pushing on with Kusal Mendis notching up a blazing 20 (9). But the main dent was then inflicted when Nissanka, after putting on some stunning fireworks with the bat, was dismissed after getting to his fifty (50 off 25).
Sri Lanka could never really get themselves back on the track after that dismissal. Charith Asalanka tried to get a move on but perished in quick time, adding more pressure on Sri Lanka’s untested middle order. Nevertheless, it was Pavan Rathnayke, Sri Lanka’s unlikely warrior, who single-handedly kept the home side alive in the run chase. He steadily went about his business by knocking the ball around and picking up the odd boundaries to prevent Sri Lanka from falling too far behind in the race.
This was also the phase when the England spinners, featuring Liam Dawson and Adil Rashid, tightened the screws on Sri Lanka’s scoring rate. Rathnayake eventually went on to overcome the stranglehold of the English spinners, marching his way to an inspirational maiden ODI century (121 off 115). But unfortunately, Rathnayake couldn’t get past Harry Brook 136 vs SL counter-attacking knock, and the English bowlers were able to pull things back to dismiss Sri Lanka inside the 47th over.
Scorecard Highlights From Harry Brook 136 vs SL ODI Series Win
| England 357/3 (50 Overs) | Sri Lanka 304/10 (46.4 Overs) |
| Harry Brook (136 off 66) | Pavan Rathnayake (121 off 115) |
| Joe Root (111 off 108) | Pathum Nissanka (50 off 25) |
| Jacob Bethell (65 off 72) | Kamil Mishara (22 off 17) |
| Liam Dawson (2/48 in 10 overs) | Wanindu Hasaranga (1/76 in 10 overs) |
| Will Jacks (2/43 in 8 overs) | Jeffrey Vandersay (1/76 in 10 overs) |
| Adil Rashid (2/61 in 10 overs) | Dhananjaya de Silva (1/45 in 5 overs) |
Match Result: England win by 53 runs
Player of the Match: Harry Brook (136 off 66)
Pivotal Moments and Key Talking Points From Harry Brook 136 vs SL Masterclass
Match-Defining Partnership Between Root and Brook
Brook and Root came together after England was 166/3 and completely turned the innings around. Their record-breaking stand of an unbeaten 191 runs for the fourth wicket paved the foundation for a blazing Harry Brook 136 vs SL show. As record books would have it, the partnership between Brook and Root was the second-best partnership ever registered by England against Sri Lanka in ODIs.
Root played the anchor role by ensuring steady strike rotation and punishing loose balls to get to his 20th ODI century. Brook exploded in the latter half, accelerating the run rate and taking on the bowling with powerful hitting, especially in the last 15 overs. The duo blend control with aggression to build a massive launchpad for England to go big in the death overs.
Poor Death Bowling From Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s composure as a bowling unit alarmingly spiraled out of control the moment Harry Brook 136 vs SL insane carnage began taking effect. When England arrived at the 40th over, only three down, Sri Lanka were always likely to suffer in the final 10. The three most-experienced bowlers’ figures make for the bleakest reading – Asitha Fernando went at 8.55 runs an over, while both Wanindu Hasaranga and Jeffrey Vandersay returned figures of 1 for 76 apiece from their 10 overs. Dunith Wellalage maintained an economy rate of 4.9, emerging as the most economical bowler, but returned wicketless, while Dhananjaya manufactured a wicket at the expense of 45 runs in his 5.
The Sri Lankan bowlers were all over the place and could not seem to find a way to prevent the onslaught from England. All in all, the Lankan bowlers leaked at least more than 140 runs in the final 10 overs, which proved to be the turning point in the match. Wayward bowling in the death allowed Brook and Co. to cut loose and pile up the runs at an alarming rate, which ultimately took the game beyond Sri Lanka’s reach.
Pavan Rathnayake Lifts Sri Lanka On The Back Of A Fighting Century
Featuring in only his fourth ODI, Rathnayake makes an immediate impact with the bat. His well-constructed 121 off 115 kept Sri Lanka in the hunt and prevented them from being blown away. It was his maiden ODI century that lifted Sri Lanka after a brutal Harry Brook 136 vs SL onslaught.
Rathnayake steered the ship and kept piling runs at adecent rate. But unfortunately, his innings lacked the firepower. Furthermore, with wickets tumbling at the other end, Rathnayake kept running out of partners and struggled to maintain his focus for too long, ultimately succumbing to the scoreboard pressure. He ended his knock with 12 fours and 1 six, with a majority of the runs being scored with the help of the flick shot.
