England cricket team stars Joe Root and Harry Brook were on absolute fire against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, with both batters scoring centuries. The visitors amassed a mammoth 357-run total at the end of the 50 overs, thanks to whirlwind knocks from the duo. Sri Lanka now face an uphill task, as they will have to chase down 358 runs in order to secure an impossible win against England in the 1st ODI.
Root, Brook slam centuries
Root reached his 61st century in international cricket and his 20th in ODIs in the 45th over, taking a single to reach the milestone. He finished with 111 runs from 108 deliveries to his name, having struck 9 fours and one six, at a strike rate of 102.78. With his hundred, Root is just one century short of overtaking the legendary Jacques Kallis on the list of most international centuries (across all formats).
Most hundreds in international cricket
| Player | Mat | 100s |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 664 | 100 |
| Virat Kohli | 559 | 85 |
| Ricky Ponting | 560 | 71 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | 594 | 63 |
| Jacques Kallis | 519 | 62 |
| Joe Root | 383 | 61 |
England captain Harry Brook registered his 3rd ODI ton in the game against Sri Lanka. He finished as as the team’s leading run-getter, with 136 runs from 66 deliveries, striking 11 fours and 9 sixes at a strike rate of 206.06. Such was the effect of the onslaught inflicted by both the England batters that the team finished with a commanding total of 357 runs for the loss of just 3 wickets at the end of 50 overs.
England’s experiment to open the innings with Rehan Ahmed failed as he departed after scoring just 24 runs. Ben Duckett only made 7 runs off 17 deliveries before he was sent packing by Dhananjaya de Silva. Jacob Bethell scored 65 runs off 72 deliveries before his stay in the middle was cut short by Vandersay.
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