Sri Lanka and West Indies will face off in the third ODI of the ongoing series at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, in Kandy, on Wednesday, October 26. Sri Lanka have already won the series, however, they would love to get the third win as well. Their home dominance has been extremely emphatic in this tour. Its almost a shame that Sri Lanka will not get to feature in the upcoming Champions Trophy.
Match overview:
Sri Lanka have been soaring high during the entire tour. The batting lineup looks solid and has delivered even when the conditions did not help much. The Sri Lankan batters made sure that the team did not feel the absence of Pathum Nissanka, who was ruled out from the squad because of a quadricep strain. His replacement Nishan Madushka played a solid knock, absorbing the pressure as the top order went out cheaply. His inning formed the ground for Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka to take the West Indian bowlers to the cleaners.
Talking about the West Indies side, they have been either very unlucky or very awful. It is evident that the side is trying to recover from the exodus of their main players. The batting lineup has shown no spine throughout the series. Barring Gudakesh Motie and Sherfane Rutherford, no Windies batter has even crossed 50 runs in both games. Such is the mess the West Indian batting lineup has found itself in in Sri Lanka. The bowlers have tried to do more than they could and at times, have troubled the Sri Lankans as well. But without any help from the batting lineup, these efforts have not yielded any fruit.
Pitch and weather report:
Rain has wreaked havoc at the Pallekelle International Stadium and is expected to do so again in the third ODI. Despite that, spinners are expected to get generous turn just as they got during the second game. We can expect the spinners to hold sway once again. Batters will find some assistance too, but during the later part of the game.
Probable XI:
Sri Lanka:
Nishan Madushka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (c), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Janith Liyanage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando.
West Indies:
Brandon King, Alick Athanaze, Shai Hope (wk/c), Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Gudakesh Motie, Hayden Walsh, Jayden Seales, Alzarri Joseph.
Head-to-head:
Sri Lanka and West Indies have played 67 games in ODI format against each other. Sri Lanka have won 33 games while West Indies stood victorious in 31. Three games ended without any result
Prediction:
Sri Lanka are favourites to sweep the entire series, more because of the inaction at West Indies’ end. The hosts’ batters as well as bowlers would love to have the West Indies against the wall once again.
Where to Watch:
Sri Lanka: Supreme TV, Ten Cricket, Sri Lanka Cricket’s YouTube
West Indies: Rush Sports
Bangladesh: T Sports
MENA and rest of Asia: Cricbuzz
Sub-Saharan Africa: SuperSport
Pakistan: Ten Sports, Tapmad
India: FanCode App, Sony LIV
