Dasun Shanaka led a fierce fightback with a blistering 97 off just 50 balls for the Sri Lanka cricket team against England in the third match of thePakistan ODI Tri-Series 2026 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Shanaka’s knock, scored at a strike rate of 194.00, included six fours and eight sixes and provided the impetus as Sri Lanka chased down England’s mammoth total of 429/4 to post the second-highest successful run chase in ODI cricket.

South Africa holds the record for the highest, having hunted down 434 against Australia in 2006.

Besides Shanaka’s 97, the chase was led by Pavan Rathnayake’s 130 and Avishka Fernando’s 97. Janith Liyanage took Sri Lanka over the line with an unbeaten 61 in just 27 balls, including a six off the penultimate ball to seal the victory.

Promoted up the order, Dasun Shanaka, part of Rajasthan Royals squad in the IPL, produced a sensational counterattack to revive Sri Lanka’s chase against England.

Walking in with Sri Lanka on 193/3 at the start of the 28th over, Dasun Shanaka immediately injected momentum into the innings, taking on England’s bowlers with an aggressive approach and finding the boundary regularly.

Shanaka brought up his fifty off just 30 balls - his first ODI half-century since 2023 - and accelerated further as Sri Lanka pushed past 300.

He targeted the likes of Sam Curran, Liam Dawson and Gus Atkinson, sending some powerful hits down the ground.

The Sri Lankan all-rounder continued his onslaught in the closing stages, racing from 60 to 97 in just 18 deliveries at one point.

England’s Liam Dawson finally ended his charge when Shanaka attempted another big hit and picked out Tom Banton at long-on, falling just three runs short of a century.

However, by the time Shanaka was dismissed in the 44th over, his knock had brought Sri Lanka within touching distance of the target. The Lankans eventually sealed the win with two wickets and one ball to spare.

The fifty against England was Shanka’s fifth in the ODI format. He has also scored two centuries in the 50-over format for the Lankans.

It was Sri Lanka’s highest successful run chase in ODIs. The previous record was 321 - a target the Lankans chased down twice - first against England in 2006 at Leeds and then against India in 2017 at the Oval.