They say lightning doesn't strike the same place twice but it seems the phrase doesn't hold true for the England cricket team. The 3 Lions roared against the Netherlands and smashed their own record of the highest score in ODI cricket by registering a mammoth 498/4 in the 1st ODI on Friday. Interestingly, the 3 highest totals in ODI cricket now belong to England.
A 222-run second-wicket partnership set up Eoin Morgan's men for a big total but little did the Netherlands know what was to follow. Jos Buttler came to the crease and went berserk. He smashed his second-fastest ODI hundred and remained unbeaten on 162 off 70 deliveries, hitting 14 sixes and 7 fours. He now holds the record for scoring the 3 fastest ODI centuries for the 3 Lions.
Phil Salt and Dawid Malan were the other two batters who scored centuries as Netherlands bowlers looked helpless. But that was not the end of bowlers' miseries as Liam Livingstone came to the party in the death overs. He went hammer and tongs from ball one and slammed a 22-ball 66, blazing six fours and as many sixes.