Brook smashes fastest ODI double century in 114 balls, yet England lose despite scoring 429

Scoring a double century in one-day cricket is a rare feat in itself, but England captain Harry Brook has rewritten history by reaching 200 in just 114 balls. In a tri-nation ODI series match against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi on Thursday (October 22), Brook scored 202 runs.

Brook broke the record for the fastest ODI double century held by India's Shubman Gill. Gill had completed his double hundred off 117 balls against the West Indies last month; Brook reached the milestone in three fewer balls.

The pace of the innings was remarkable. Brook reached his century in just 75 balls, and from there needed only 39 balls to get to his double hundred. By comparison, Gill had made his hundred in 62 balls and then taken 55 balls to reach the double century.

Brook's innings of 202 came off 116 balls and included 21 fours and 10 sixes. He became the first England batsman to score an ODI double century, and with it naturally claimed his country's highest individual ODI score as well.

Sent in to bat after losing the toss, England piled up 429 for 4 on the back of Brook's epic innings. After such a total, victory had seemed all but certain.

But Sri Lanka's astonishing run chase dimmed that joy. Chasing 430, they reached 430 for 8 in 49.5 overs to win the match. It is the second-highest successful run chase in ODI history.

The two teams combined for 859 runs in the match, the second-highest aggregate in the format's history. In other words, in a match that entered the record books on multiple counts, Brook was left with the bitter taste of defeat.

The defeat produced yet another rare record. For the first time in men's ODI cricket, a batsman who scored a double century ended up on the losing side. Harry Brook is the only cricketer in history whose team lost despite his double hundred.

The previous highest individual score in a losing cause was Charles Coventry's unbeaten 194 for Zimbabwe against Bangladesh in 2009. Seventeen years later, that record too now belongs to Brook — though it is a record nobody wants.

Statistics show that only 10 batsmen have so far scored 200 or more in ODI cricket. The 50-over game has seen 14 double-century innings in all, with Indian batsmen dominating the list.

Eight of those double hundreds have come from five Indian batsmen. Rohit Sharma has three, the most in ODIs; Shubman Gill has two; and Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Ishan Kishan have one each.

The list began with Tendulkar — an unbeaten 200 off 147 balls against South Africa in 2010. Then came Sehwag's 219 off 149 balls against the West Indies in 2011, Rohit's 209 against Australia in 2013, and his 264 off 173 balls against Sri Lanka in 2014, which remains the highest individual score on the list.

The remaining double centuries are Chris Gayle's 215 (2015, against Zimbabwe), Martin Guptill's unbeaten 237 (2015, West Indies), Rohit's unbeaten 208 (2017, Sri Lanka), Fakhar Zaman's unbeaten 210 (2018, Zimbabwe), Ishan Kishan's 210 (2022, against Bangladesh), Glenn Maxwell's unbeaten 201 (2023, Afghanistan), Gill's 208 (2023, New Zealand) and unbeaten 223 (2026, West Indies), and Pathum Nissanka's unbeaten 210 (2024, Afghanistan).

The newest addition to that elite list is now Harry Brook's 202. But defeat for his team on his record-breaking day means the innings will be remembered not for the glory of victory, but for a rare statistic that may well stand untouched for a long time.