In an attempt to salvage some pride and not return home with a series defeat, India will take on Sri Lanka in the third and final match of the three-match ODI series on Wednesday at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Sri Lanka made a stunning comeback in the ODI series after getting whitewashed in the T20I affair, and are now staring at a series victory. In the first match, the Lankans clinched a tie from the jaws of defeat.
The second match saw Sri Lanka’s spinners, especially Jeffrey Vandersay, running riots against the Indian batters, as the home team got a 32-run win. Hence, a victory in this match is essential to tie the series at 1-1.
What has happened so far?
Batting first in the opening match, Sri Lanka got a total of 230/8, which is a decent score on the turning track of Colombo. The likes of Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, and Axar Patel bowled well for India, but a 67 not out from 65 balls from Dunith Wellalage helped Sri Lanka get to 230 runs from once struggling at 142/6.
India had a good start with the bat as captain Rohit Sharma scored a half-century and the opening partnership of him and Shubman Gill scored 75 runs but then spinners Wanindu Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka brought the visitors’ downfall. Requiring just 1 run to win, India lost its last two wickets of Shivam Dube and Arshdeep in successive deliveries to only get a tie from the game.
The Lanka batter first again in the second game and the performance was slightly better this time around. Avishka Fernando, Wellalage and Kamindu Mendis’ handy knocks helped Asalanka’s boys score 240/9, while for India, Washington Sundar took a three-fer.
In the chase, India had a great start again as Sharma scored 64 runs from just 44 balls. But besides him and Patel, who scored 44 runs from as many balls, no one could get a move on. Jeffrey Vandersay picked up 6 wickets and Asalanka got 3 wickets as India was bowled out for 208 runs.
Head to Head Record
When it comes to head-to-head records, India is way ahead of Sri Lanka in this format of the game. These two teams have crossed paths 170 times in ODI cricket, where India has won 99 matches while Sri Lanka won 58 games. 11 matches did not produce a winner, while two ended as a tie.
Except for what has happened in this series, India’s recent records against the Lankans are promising too. The last meeting before this tour was at the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup, where India defeated Sri Lanka by 302 runs, thanks to Siraj’s fifer.
Key Players
Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka): Sri Lanka’s captain Asalanka might not have been effective with the bat, but he has made up for it with his bowling performances. The off-spinner has picked up 6 wickets at an average of under 10, and an economy rate of just over 4. As for his batting, he has scored 39 runs at a strike rate of over 60.
Asalanka picked up the important wickets of Patel, Dube, and Arshdeep in the first ODI. Then in the second match, he got the wickets of Sundar, Siraj, and Patel dismantling the lower order of the Men in Blue who were looking to salvage something from the match after the middle order was bamboozled by Vandersay.
Rohit Sharma has been India’s best performer in this series
Rohit Sharma (India): Without any doubt, it can be said that skipper Sharma has been the best performer for India in this tournament, as he is the only Indian batter who has not looked shaky against the Sri Lankan spinners. The Hitman has scored 122 runs at an average of over 60 and a strike rate of over 130. He is currently the highest run-scorer of the series.
In the first match, Sharma scored a 47-ball 58 in the chase of 231 runs, before being dismissed by Wellalage. His knock included 7 fours and 3 sixes. His batting in the second ODI was even better, as Sharma scored 64 runs in 44 deliveries, with the help of 5 fours and 4 sixes.
Predicted XIs
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka ©, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Akila Dananjaya, Asitha Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay.
India: Rohit Sharma ©, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana.
Prediction
Sri Lanka has indeed been the better team in the ODI series, but India came close to winning in both matches. Considering the men in blue are still stronger on paper and they would be eager to prevent a series defeat, India will start this match as the favorites.