Sri Lanka VS England Match ball by ball Commentary

Signing off from this cracking game - That brings us to the end of this absolute run-fest, with Sri Lanka pulling off a memorable win to get their Tri-Series campaign going. England, meanwhile, will have to wait for their first win in the series. The action continues on Sunday, 25th October, as hosts Pakistan take on England in the second round of matches. The game gets underway at 8 am GMT, so join us early for all the build-up. Until then, cheers and goodbye!

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - There were a lot of candidates for this one, but the award goes to Pavan Rathnayake for his incredible knock of 130 off 106 balls.

A tough pill to swallow - England made a promising start with the ball, as Josh Tongue produced a beauty to remove Kamindu Mendis before Gus Atkinson ran out the opposition skipper at the non-striker's end. However, things unravelled from there. Jamie Overton broke the first of the two massive partnerships, and Sam Curran dismissed Pavan Rathnayake to give England a glimmer of hope, but Dasun Shanaka and Janith Liyanage quickly snuffed it out. With 13 needed off 12 balls, Overton delivered an outstanding penultimate over, conceding just five runs. Tongue then took charge of the final over and started brilliantly, conceding just one run off the first three balls while dismissing two batters in consecutive deliveries. However, Liyanage regained the strike off the fourth ball and finished the job on the next, delivering a crushing blow to England's hopes.

England's batting firepower on full display - England had earlier launched a stunning assault to post the highest-ever ODI total in Pakistan, led by captain Harry Brook's magnificent double hundred, also the fastest in this format. Root played his part with a fine 69, sharing a 159-run stand with his skipper, while Banton added a good fifty up top before Jacks provided the late fireworks with 66 off just 30 balls. Dunith Wellalage was Sri Lanka's pick with a couple of wickets, while Asitha Fernando and Janith Liyanage chipped in with one each, though Liyanage was expensive and the rest of the attack also struggled to contain England's scoring.

Shanaka and Rathnayake turn the tide - Rathnayake continued to flourish, and the promotion of Dasun Shanaka proved a masterstroke as the pair smashed 133 runs off just 79 balls to set Sri Lanka up for a final assault. Rathnayake brought up a superb century but fell just two balls into Powerplay 3, leaving Shanaka with the responsibility of carrying the chase. He delivered with some exceptional hitting, combining with Janith Liyanage before falling agonisingly short of a hundred on 97. Liyanage kept the runs flowing, remaining unbeaten on 61 off just 27 balls, with Dunith Wellalage and Sahan Arachchige chipping in with crucial blows, before holding his nerve through a tense finish, sealing a stunning win with a towering six off the penultimate ball.

Sri Lanka recover after early blows - Chasing this record total, Sri Lanka were rocked early at 24/2, with skipper Mendis departing for a golden duck to add to their woes. However, Avishka Fernando showed tremendous composure and game awareness, keeping the chase alive with a steady flow of boundaries and excellent strike rotation. He found an ideal partner in Pavan Rathnayake, and the duo stitched together a massive 166-run stand to bring Sri Lanka back into the contest. Fernando looked set for a hundred but fell agonisingly short on 97, leaving the responsibility on his partner to carry on the fight.

A chase for the ages! Phew! That was some game of cricket, and we could all do with a breather after that! Not many would have backed Sri Lanka at the halfway mark, but that's the beauty of this game. The Lankans showed tremendous fight and determination to pull off a remarkable chase, joining South Africa and India as the only teams to successfully hunt down totals of over 400 in ODIs. They also bag two crucial points in the series, while England are left to rue a missed opportunity, having put up a mammoth 429 but still failing to get the job done.

Who will face the hat-trick ball? It will be Asitha Fernando.