England played some outstanding cricket to defeat Pakistan in the third ODI by 169 runs at Trent Bridge on Tuesday. With this result, England have clinched the five-match series 3-0. But the third ODI will also be remembered for a number of records, which was broken in Nottingham, including the highest ever team total and highest individual score by an Englishman in ODI cricket.
After winning the toss, England had no hesitation to bat first, which proved to be a brilliant decision as all their batsmen, barring Jason Roy (15), had a great time in the third ODI. Alex Hales, Joe Root, Jos Buttler and Eoin Morgan looked in amazing touch as they hit the Pakistan bowlers all around the park. England managed to score 444 runs from the allotted 50 overs, breaking Sri Lanka's record of 443 runs against Netherlands, set in 2006.
Hales played a huge part in breaking that record, scoring a stunning 122-ball 171, which comprised of 22 fours and four sixes. It was a brilliant innings, and Hales was simply unstoppable, playing all the shots in the book to perfection. It had class, and a touch of magic written all over it. Hales' 171 runs eclipsed Robin Smith's record of 167 runs, which he had scored in 1993 against Australia.
The opener was brilliantly supported by Root, who has been in terrific form in the ODI series. They were in no mood to spare any loose balls, and even hit a few good balls to the fence. It was that kind of a day for Hales and Root, who could do nothing wrong. They were involved in a partnership of 248 runs for the second wicket, and it is the highest for any wicket against Pakistan.
Though Hales grabbed all the spotlight after his amazing innings, one should also give credit to Buttler, who was in a different league in the third ODI. Buttler was at his menacing best in the final few overs, hitting some massive sixes to help England reach 444. He scored 90 runs from 51 balls, which included seven fours and seven sixes, and in the process Buttler also became the fastest Englishman to reach a half-century, off just 22 balls. Paul Collingwood held the previous record, when he hit a fifty in 24 balls against New Zealand.
Amidst all the carnage, the Pakistan bowlers looked helpless as they watched the balls sail for fours and sixes. Wahab Riaz suffered the most as he was hit to all corners of the ground, with the pacer conceding 110 runs from his quota of 10 overs. This was for the first time a Pakistan bowler had given more than 100 runs in an ODI.
