England have been knocked out of the Pakistan tri-series after losing all three of their matches, each from a winning position. Sri Lanka’s eight-wicket win over Pakistan in Lahore on Tuesday ended their last hope.
Dilshan Madushanka took 5 for 34 as Pakistan were bowled out for 110. Sri Lanka now meet Pakistan in the October 31 final, and England’s Thursday game against Sri Lanka is a dead rubber.
| Date | Venue | Result | Where England lost it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 20 | Rawalpindi | Pakistan won by 87 runs | 120 for 1 chasing 303, all out for 215 |
| Oct 22 | Rawalpindi | Sri Lanka won by 2 wickets | Failed to defend 429 for 4 |
| Oct 25 | Lahore | Pakistan won by 1 wicket | Had Pakistan 154 for 9 chasing 242 |
The scorecards show a team losing three different ways. What they hide is why a record total can make a bowling attack worse, not safer.
Pakistan made 302 for 9 in the opener, rescued from 133 for 5 by Arafat Minhas’s 59 off 58 balls. England replied well, with Tom Banton and Ben Duckett adding 91 for the first wicket. Minhas then took a career-best 6 for 40, and England slid from 120 for 1 to 215 all out in 38.4 overs.
Brook admitted his batters went into their shells against spin, despite recent sessions with mentor Kevin Pietersen on rotating the strike.
“The story of the innings was not enough partnerships and losing wickets in clumps.”
Harry Brook, post-match, Rawalpindi, October 20, 2026
Two days later, Harry Brook hit 202 off 116 balls, the first ODI double century by an England batter. His 200 came in 114 balls, the fastest in ODI history, and lifted England to 429 for 4.
England skipper Harry Brook smashes the fastest-ever ODI double hundred in Rawalpindi 🔥
📝: https://t.co/M0k2qBIEay https://t.co/JGhoSogFPq
— ICC (@ICC) October 22, 2026
Sri Lanka chased it from 24 for 2. Pavan Rathnayake made 130, Avishka Fernando and Dasun Shanaka both made 97, and Janith Liyanage finished it with 61 not out off 27 balls, sealed by a six off the penultimate ball.
It was the second-highest successful chase in ODI history and the highest total England have ever conceded. Sam Curran’s 2 for 103 from nine overs became England’s most expensive ODI figures, and Brook’s 202 became the first ODI double hundred in a losing side.
Insider Read
A big total changes a bowler’s head before it changes the plan. With 429 on the board, nobody wants to be the one who leaks runs, so the ball drifts to where it feels safe: a little fuller to avoid the pull, a little wider to avoid the slog. On a pitch that produced 859 runs, safe length is hittable length, and a set batter reads it within an over.
The second trap belongs to the captain. You stop hunting wickets in the middle overs because you believe the total will choke them, so the field stays back and the same bowler stays on. That is how Curran bowled nine overs for 103. Defending 429 is not about saving runs. It is about taking wickets as if you had 280.
From 154 for 9 to Defeat: How Pakistan Finished It in Lahore
In Lahore, England slipped to 19 for 3. Brook was run out for 1, slipping as he turned for a second and beaten by Razaullah’s throw from the deep. Duckett’s 105, his fifth ODI century, carried England to 241.
That looked enough when Pakistan were 154 for 9. Shadab Khan then made 113 not out off 96 balls and added 89 with Haris Rauf, the largest 10th-wicket stand ever to win an ODI.
Shadab kept stealing a single off the fourth or fifth ball of each over to keep Rauf away from the strike. Jamie Overton and Liam Dawson had both finished their overs by the 39th, with Pakistan needing 55 from 66 balls. Pakistan got there with 17 balls to spare.
Brook defended his attack afterwards.
“I don’t think we went wrong with the ball, to be honest.”
Harry Brook, post-match presentation, Lahore, October 25, 2026
England were without Jos Buttler (hamstring injury), Jacob Bethell (recovering from injury) and Jofra Archer (rested). Adil Rashid sat out the last two matches despite being in the squad.
Before this tri-series, England had won all three of their ODI series this year. Three ODIs in Australia follow next month, and the World Cup in southern Africa is 12 months away. Head coach Brendon McCullum says his inexperienced side has only 20 games to get ready.
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