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England white-ball skipper Harry Brook hailed the Three Lions batting heavyweight Joe Root, after his side registered a comfortable 53-run victory over Sri Lanka in the third and final ODI at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Monday.
Brook believes Root is an 'exceptional' player, and having him in the side helps every day. With this victory, the Three Lions clinched the three-match ODI series 2-1. Brook was named Player of the Match, whereas Root was awarded the Player of the Series award. "Working on a few things in the nets, and it paid off. Glad me, Rooty and Beth could get us to that total. Awesome effort from everyone. Root is exceptional; to have him in the side helps every day. [Toss?] Not that important, a lot better pitch than we were expecting. Got a good score and managed to defend it. Very happy with how the spinners bowled, they were working in tandem. The batters tried to put the pressure back on in tough conditions. [Pitch] It was a decent wicket! Ended up being better than we thought," Harry Brook said after the match. Batting first, England posted a massive total of 357/3 in 50 overs. Jacob Bethell played a decent knock of 65 runs off 72 balls, with eight fours, while Boork slammed an unbeaten 136 runs off 66 balls, with 11 fours and nine towering sixes. With his 136, Brook surpassed South Africa's Quinton de Kock, who had scored 128 in Hambantota in 2014, to claim the record for the highest score by a non-Asian batter in Sri Lanka. Along with Brook, veteran batter Root also hammered an unbeaten 111 runs off 108 deliveries, including nine fours and one six. Root and Brook stitched an unbeaten 191-run stand in just 113 deliveries for the fourth wicket as England crossed the 350-run mark. The former England captain surpassed West Indies' legendary cricketer Brian Lara in the list of the highest run-getters in international cricket. Root has hammered 22,413 runs in 384 matches and 506 innings at an average of 49.69. The veteran batter has notched up 61 centuries and 116 half-centuries. Chasing a massive total of 358, Sri Lanka was bundled out for 304 in 46.4 overs, losing by 53 runs. Pavan Rathnayake was the star with the bat for Sri Lanka as he slammed his maiden ODI hundred, scoring 121 off 115 balls, 12 fours and one six. (ANI)
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