New Zealand tour of Sri Lanka

SL vs NZ, 3rd ODI

Preview 

The Hosts Sri Lanka are in full charge after beating New Zeal in the second ODI match of the 3-match series on Sunday, November 17. Sri Lanka will meet New Zealand in the third and final match of this ODI series on Tuesday, November 19. This match is scheduled at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele, Sri Lanka. Charith Asalanka will lead the Lankan Lions, Sri Lanka. On the other hand, Mitchell Santher will lead the Blackcaps, NZ.

After winning the toss in the first T20I match, Sri Lanka put NZ to bat first and Visitors bowled out on 207 in 45.2 overs in a revised 47 overs match. For the Blackcaps, the left-handed batter Mark Chapman scored 76 off 81 and guided his side to cross the 200 runs mark. He was supported by Mitchell Hay who played a decent knock of 49 off 62, however, NZ's seven batters could not even cross past the single-digit mark. For Sri Lanka in bowling, Theekshana and Vandersay each took three wickets, while Asitha Fernando claimed two wickets. Charith Asalanka and Dunith Wellalage also contributed with one wicket apiece.

While chasing the target of 208 runs, Sri Lanka tumbled and lost three wickets on the score of 46 runs in 11.2 overs. None of the Lankan batters could even cross the 30 runs mark, apart from Kusal Mendis who scored the match-winning 74* off 102. It was a rare failure from the Hosts batters but that could not affect them to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and they won the match by 3 wickets with 6 balls to spare. For NZ, Michael Bracewell scalped four wickets while Santher, Philips and Smith added a wicket under their belt which was not enough for the Visitors to seal a victory against Lankan Lions.

Now, it is going to be a big challenge for the New Zealand batters when they meet Sri Lanka in the battle of pride to end the series with 1-2. The Visitors must be aiming for a solid show from their top-order batters including the likes of Tim Robinson, Henry Nicholls and others against Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, the Lankan Lions would not try to do something extraordinary for this match, they would try to play their natural game and try to win this series by 3-0.

SL and NZ have faced each other in 104 matches in ODI. Out of these 104 games, SL won 43 games, while NZ won 52 matches, making it a tight rivalry, while their 8 matches ended without a result and one ended in a tie.

Match Details

Match: SL vs NZ, 3rd ODI, New Zealand tour of Sri Lanka, 2024

Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Time: 02:30 PM

Venue: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele

Pitch Report

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium is known as a decent batting surface. The new white ball might show some movement, particularly in the lights, but once the pitch settles, batters can easily score their runs. This venue has hosted 46 ODI matches so far, out of which 17 won by batting first, and 27 won by the chasing side. The average score batting first in T20Is here is 247 runs.

With that record, both side's skippers will be keen to the crucial toss, bowl first and put pressure on the opposition by taking advantage of the deck. Batters, though, can expect a nice time here and the fielding side would try to restrict them to under 245-255 runs.

During the match, the temperature in Pallekele International Cricket Stadium is predicted to be around 22-29 degrees Celsius, with the humidity level crossing over 75%. There is going to be light wind on the ground at the speed of 06 km/h. There is an 80% chance of rain interrupting the match, which could lead to the use of the DLS method again.

SL vs NZ Squads

SL: Kusal Mendis (wk), Charith Asalanka (c), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Janith Liyanage, Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushan Hemantha, Nishan Madushka, Dunith Wellalage, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Mohamed Shiraz

NZ: Mitch Hay (wk), Mitchell Santner (c), Tim Robinson, Will Young, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Josh Clarkson, Zakary Foulkes, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, Adam Milne, Henry Nicholls, Nathan Smith, Dean Foxcroft

SL vs NZ Probable Playing XIs

SL: Avishka Fernando, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis, Dunith Wellalage, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Asitha Fernando, Janith Liyanage

NZ: Will Young, Tim Robinson, Henry Nicholls, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Hay (wk), Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy

Match Prediction

Under the leadership of Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka looks like an almost unbeatable side at home. We’re backing them to secure a 3-0 series win over New Zealand in the third ODI.

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