The third and last One-Day International (ODI) of the series saw Sri Lanka opt to bat first once more. Maheesh Theekshana took Akila Dananjaya’s place in the only change made by the hosts. After a 21-month break, Rishabh Pant was given the chance to play in the One-Day Internationals for India. He replaced KL Rahul, and Riyan Parag made his ODI debut in lieu of Arshdeep Singh.
A pair of significant partnerships in the 1980s laid the groundwork for a formidable total scored by Sri Lanka; however, Riyan Parag entered with decisiveness, knocking Avishka Fernando for 96 and skipper Charith Asalanka for both being declared leg before wicket, thereby halting the Lankan momentum. After a disastrous middle order collapse, Sri Lanka finished their innings at 248/7 thanks to a late 23-run performance from Kamindu Mendis.
Though all the spinners had good games, Parag was the most effective bowler, taking three wickets and displaying his technical ability.
Rohit Sharma led the powerplay once more, launching a furious attack. But the well-known story continued as his colleagues fell prey to the Sri Lankans’ unrelenting spin machine. The Indian innings was badly damaged by the ongoing wicket loss.
Also Read: Before his ODI debut, BCCI releases Riyan Parag’s touching remark, – ‘Coming from Assam, it was termed impossible’
Upon the eighth wicket falling at 101 runs, four batters in the middle and lower order were unable to score in double figures. Even though Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav tried their best to turn things around, India lost by 110 runs in the end. With this defeat, Sri Lanka won a historic bilateral series—their first against India since 1997.
1. Top three ignites, middle-order melts (again)
With contributions of 45, 96, and 59, the top three players from Sri Lanka performed brilliantly, evoking memories of the T20I series. But the bottom order failed to build on the strong foundation that the top order had created, and the rest of the batting order could only muster a pitiful total.
2. Riyan Parag: The new spin prodigy on the block?
Out of the three experienced spinners (Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar), Riyan Parag was the most formidable in his first ODI. As the most effective weapon, Parag’s pinpoint accuracy and the razor-sharp bite of his spin off the pitch made him a crucial player in the game.
3) Rohit’s departure causes yet another domino effect
A pattern similar to what was seen in the previous ODIs emerged, where it appeared as though the pitch’s dynamics drastically changed after the aggressive captain’s brief but significant innings. The game seemed well within India’s grasp as long as Rohit stayed at the crease. That being said, his expulsion was a watershed moment that set off a disastrous chain of events that resulted in India’s downfall.
Losing skipper, Rohit Sharma
I don’t think it is a concern. But it is something we have to look at individually and as a gameplan. It is a joke, when you are playing for India there is never going to be complacency. When I am captain there is no chance of complacency. But you have to give credit to good cricket.
Sri Lanka played better than us. We looked at the conditions and went with the combinations, there also guys who need to be looked at and hence the changes. There are lot of areas we need to look at rather than the positives. These things happen, series lost is not the end of the world, you will lose an odd series here and there but it is about how you come back after the loss.
Winning skipper, Charith Asalanka
I am a happy captain right now. The team did all things right throughout the series. We all knew they are a strong batting line up and we wanted to back our strength, spin was our strength and we backed it. They are in a good mood right now and our coach (Sanath Jayasuriya) is very active. The boys really enjoyed the team environment.
Player of the Match, Avishka Fernando
Very happy with the innings. The batters got together and did a good job. It was a challenging wicket and a bit disappointed not to get a hundred but happy with the win.
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