Sri Lanka enter the third and last ODI match against Afghanistan at Hambantota's Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium on Wednesday, June 7 with a big boost in confidence from the last game. The Island nation avoided a series loss at home as they recorded a dominant 132-run win in the second match to level the three-match series to 1-1. Kusal Mendis and Dimuth Karunaratne recorded brilliant knocks to help Sri Lanka score 323 runs while batting first. Then the returning spinner Wanindu Hasaranga and Dhananjaya de Silva picked three wickets each to bowl out Rashid Khan on just 191 runs. Star spinner Rashid Khan is expected to return to the squad for the series decider clash.
Pitch Report - SL vs AFG
The pitch at Hambantota's Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium has provided a balanced surface in the last two games here. The pitch produced a bit of turn in the second innings to help spinners in the second ODI match. Sri Lanka batters seemed to have adapted well to score big after the initial powerplay overs. Teams batting first have won just 10 of 25 ODI matches played here but both teams are likely to prefer to bat first in the upcoming game here. The average first innings score here is 254 and fans can expect a high-scoring clash on Wednesday,
Will Toss Matter?
Very unlikely. Afghanistan recorded an easy win in the first match of this series here by chasing 268 runs while Sri Lanka managed to post a 300-plus total in the second match to record a big win.
Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota- The Numbers Game
Basic ODI Stats
- Total matches: 25
- Matches won batting first: 10
- Matches won bowling first: 12
Average ODI Stats
- Average 1st Innings scores: 254
- Average 2nd Innings scores: 200
Score Stats for ODI matches
- Highest total recorded - 368/4 (50 Ov) by SL vs PAK
- Lowest total recorded - 112/10 (33.1 Ov) by KEN vs PAK
- Highest score chased - 312/2 (47.2 Ov) by SL vs ZIM
- Lowest score defended - 314/6 (50 Ov) by IND vs SL
Full Squads -
Sri Lanka Squad: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Angelo Mathews, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dushan Hemantha, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dushmantha Chameera
Afghanistan Squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Abdul Rahman, Riaz Hassan, Ikram Alikh
