Brook's 114-ball double ton is the fastest in ODIs, going past Gill

Harry Brook has taken the ODI record for the quickest double century from India captain Shubman Gill. The England white-ball captain reached 200 in 114 balls against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi on Thursday, 22 October. Gill's mark of 117 balls, set not long ago against West Indies, lasted only a short time.

Brook finished on 202 off 116 deliveries. He hit 21 fours and 10 sixes, at a strike rate of just over 174. That made him the first Englishman to score an ODI double hundred. England closed on 429 for 4 in their 50 overs. The match is part of a tri-nation series that also includes Pakistan.

Brook had help from Joe Root, who made 69 off 66 balls with eight fours. The two Yorkshire batters added 159 together and gave the innings its base. Root also went past 8,000 ODI runs during his knock. Brook then scored most of his runs in the final stretch, when the Sri Lankan attack could not slow him.

Brook's ODI numbers before this innings were modest next to its scale. He had 1,737 runs in 46 innings at an average of about 41, with four hundreds and eight fifties. He has long scored heavily in Pakistan, where his Test best of 317 came. His runs there across formats average above 74. He also passed 7,000 international runs in this innings.

For Indian fans the record has a familiar feel, because the old mark belonged to an Indian. Gill's 117-ball double came recently, and before that he made his first ODI double hundred against New Zealand in Hyderabad in January 2023. He was 23 then and became the youngest man to reach the mark in the format. His place on the fastest-double list was brief, but he still holds the age record.

There is also a wider Indian point. The fastest-double record has moved around within a small group of Indian-linked names, and those scores have changed what batters consider possible in 50-over cricket. Totals above 400 once looked like rare events. Brook's innings shows the ceiling is still moving up, with flat pitches, short boundaries and fearless hitting all pushing it.

Bowling attacks around the world, India's included, will take note. Brook is a captain who bats with licence and is happy to attack from the middle overs. India's bowlers have usually coped with big hitters by taking early wickets and controlling the middle overs. Against a batter in this form, that plan comes under real pressure.

Gill is unlikely to be upset for long. He is India's ODI captain and a constant run-maker, and records in this format tend to be broken sooner than in Tests. His own record fell after only a short spell, and it may not be the last to go.

Sri Lanka now have a rebuilding job on their hands in the tri-series, while England have set a new standard of ambition for their white-ball batting. Brook's 114-ball double century will be the reference point whenever a batter reaches 150 in an ODI from here on.