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The third and final One-Day International (ODI) between Sri Lanka and India is set to take place at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday (July 23).
The visitors have won the first two matches and are already ahead in the three-match series 2-0. The Shikhar Dhawan-led side will be looking for another victory to complete the whitewash in the ODI leg.
On the other hand, the hosts would be aiming to record their first win. In the previous fixture, Sri Lanka were in a driving position at one stage but lost the match eventually due to Deepak Chahar’s breathtaking knock.
Pitch report:
The surface at Colombo doesn’t produce a high-scoring fixture, but due to the slowness of the track, scores between 260-290 is a relatively competitive total and can be defended.
Playing Combination:
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka need to up their ante in order to register their first win over Indians in the ODI leg. They performed nicely as a unit in the second game, but it got slipped away probably due to lack of experience. It’s highly unlikely that the home team would make any changes.
SL XI: Dasun Shanaka (c), Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka (wk), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Lakshan Sandakan, Kasun Rajitha.
India
Ideally, no team likes to alter the winning combination, but since this is a try-out series for India, one could see at least one change for the third and final ODI. Sanju Samson could get a game, and he might replace either Ishan Kishan or Manish Pandey.
IND XI: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Manish Pandey, Ishan Kishan/Sanju Samson (wk).
Match Prediction:
Case 1:
- Sri Lanka win the toss and bowl first
- India Powerplay score: 60-70
- India Total: 280-300
Case 2:
- India win the toss and bowl first
- Sri Lanka Powerplay score: 40-50
- Sri Lanka Total: 260-280
India to win the contest.