RECAP
Follow UsSri Lanka’s solid opening stand
Pathum Nissanka and Avishka Fernando were finally able to get Sri Lanka off to a good start. After opening stands of 0 and 7 in the first two matches, the duo added 89 runs for the first wicket in the third ODI. Although Sri Lanka started slow, scoring only 41 runs in the first 10 overs, the 89-run stand put the hosts on the right track.
Nissanka was out in the 20th over for 45 off 65 balls to Axar Patel.
Mendis backs Fernando
Kusal Mendis also stepped up after wasting a couple of starts earlier in the series. He forged an 82-run stand with Fernando for the second wicket while scoring 59 himself and batting till the 49th over. Thus, Sri Lanka’s top three scored 200 runs between them.
Parag triggers collapse
From 171/1, Sri Lanka slid to 199/6, with Riyan Parag accounting for three wickets on his ODI debut. Parag first dismissed Fernando for 96, impacting Sri Lanka’s innings in the first over of his second spell. He then added two left-handers to his kitty, finishing with 3/54 in his nine overs. Kamindu Mendis, alongside Kusal Mendis, then stretched Sri Lanka’s score to 248/7 in 50 overs.
Siraj’s forgettable day
Conceding 1/78 off his nine overs, Mohammed Siraj matched his worst bowling figures in ODI cricket after his spell of 1/78 in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand last year.
In a bid to extend their batting resources, India dropped Arshdeep Singh for Parag, leaving Siraj as the only specialist seamer alongside the part-timer Shivam Dube.
While Dube conceded only nine runs in his four overs upfront, Siraj from the other end went for 29 in four overs. Siraj had one fruitful spell in the middle phase where he dismissed Sadeera Samarawickrama with a reverse-swinging yorker. Except that spell, he had a day to forget.
India collapse to SL’s spin, again
There is little to write about India’s innings. Rohit Sharma scored 35 and was yet the top scorer in the innings. After Shubman Gill was out to Asitha Fernando, India simply capitulated against Sri Lanka’s spin. They were bowled out for 138 inside 27 overs.
Dunith Wellalage picked a five-for (5/27) while Jeffrey Vandersay (2/34) and Maheesh Theekshana (2/45) chipped in too. The trio snapped up nine wickets between them to stage Sri Lanka’s first bilateral ODI series win against India since 1997.
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