India will meet Sri Lanka in the final ODI of the series to eye clean-sweep, while Sri Lanka will look to get 10 points for the CWC Super League.
Match Timings: July 23, 3 PM IST
Match Preview
India and Sri Lanka will battle out again in Colombo for the final ODI of the series. India dominated the tour so far by winning both games and they have taken a 2-0 lead in the 3-match series. The last game was pure heartbreak for Sri Lanka. Their bowlers did a wonderful job by testing India’s batting lineup but they failed to handle the pressure. Deepak Chahar played a terrific knock of 69 and added 84 runs for the 8th wicket to seal the series for India. Suryakumar Yadav also got his maiden ODI half-century. India were struggling at one stage when they lost their 7 wickets on 193 but they maintained their run rate.
It was India’s second series win in CWC Super League. They have won 5 games out of the last six and made into the top four of the points table. The points table will not matter for India as they have already qualified for the WC 2023 but it might be a headache for the Lankan side. They are in serious trouble and after seeing some good performances from teams like Ireland and Zimbabwe, they can face entry in WC Qualifiers.
Sri Lanka made same mistakes while batting. They got a good start from openers but they failed to grab the opportunity. Asalanka scored his maiden fifty but the highlight was Chameera’s acceleration which helped Lanka to get 275. They got five wickets in the first 20 overs but Sri Lanka didn’t stop India to score runs less than 6 runs per over. It made them suffer throughout the game. The 8th wicket partnership delivered another series loss to Lanka. It was Sri Lanka’s 10th consecutive ODI loss against India at home and fourth ODI series loss under CWC Super League.
Sri Lanka should definitely play with a similar XI and they should stick with the same squad for future perspective. Meanwhile, India will surely give chances to bench players. Either Gaikwad or Padikkal may open with Dhawan. Chetan Sakariya can get his international debut this time or he might be used in T20s. Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy both might replace Chahal and Kuldeep. Nitish Rana can get the name in playing XI in place of Manish Pandey and Sanju Samson is expected to take gloves in the final game in place of Ishan Kishan.
Pitch Report
Colombo’s surface is a pure batting surface and we might expect lot of runs in the third ODI. If India bats first, we might see 300 plus total. Chasing would be the best call but it would be tough if the score is around 280-300.
Possible XI
India
Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prithvi Shaw/Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey/Nitish Rana, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav/Rahul Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Navdeep Saini/Deepak Chahar/Chetan Sakariya
Sri Lanka
Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Ramesh Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama, Ashen Bandara, Dhananjaya Lakshan
Key Players
India
Shikhar Dhawan
A gritty half-century in the first game, coming off a great Indian T20 League season
Prithvi Shaw
Could be a game-changer in this game
Sri Lanka
Dasun Shanaka
Looked good with the bat and ball in series, a prominent player for SL in the last two years
Wanindu Hasaranga
A handy allrounder, 3-wicket haul in last game, going through a dream phase of his career
