SL vs BAN Preview | Series decider to be played at Pallekele

‌The third and final match of Bangladesh’s tour of Zimbabwe is set to take place on July 8 at the Pallekela International Stadium. The Lankans had started well with a win in the first ODI, winning convincingly by a margin of 77 runs on the back of a terrific century by skipper Charith Asalanka, which gave them an early lead at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

However, things became intense in the second ODI, which was played at the same venue. Though the Bangladesh batters were bowled out for 248 in the first innings on the back of half-centuries from Parvez Hossain Emon and Towhid Hridoy. While this seemed like a chaseable total, the Lankan batters struggled to get going in to the match, where the Bangladesh spinners kept the breaks on the scoring.

While Kusal Mendis and Janith Liyanage tried to keep the Lankans in the game, the left-arm spin of Tanvir Islam created problems for them, and the hosts were eventually bowled out for 232 and lost the game by 16 runs as Islam finished with his best figures of 5/39 and was also adjudged the player of the match for the match-winning spell. This has leveled the series 1-1, and it is set to be a great battle between the two Asian teams, with the series on the line.

The two teams have faced each other in 59 ODI games starting from 1986. It is the Lankan Lions who lead the charts in the head-to-head battle in the 50-over format with 44 wins, while the Bangla Tigers have been victorious on only 13 occasions. There are two matches between the two teams that have ended without a result. However, in the 2020’s it is Bangladesh who just about has an edge over the two-time world champions, winning 6 out of the eleven games they have played.

The Pallekele International Stadium is a ground that is once again expected to help the spinners and is slow and dry in the majority of the matches. There is a chance that the fans might witness another low-scoring match like the first two games, where scores above 250 might be a tricky target to chase down. The batters might be tested once again with the amount of turn and bounce that is expected on the surface

 The temperature at Pallekele is expected to be 29 degrees Celsius with a 70% humidity rate. While the amount of rain might not be excessive, the conditions will most probably be cloudy and might still affect the game a bit. The surface, which is expected to be dry with the weather being mostly on the cloudy side, could affect the conditions and how the game might play out in the end as well.

Looking at the Sri Lankan team's performance in the last game, they might make some changes within their top order going into the crucial game.  The scores of Nishan Madhuska in the first two games were disappointing, which might bring some changes with the likes of Avishka Fernando coming into the fold since he has more experience and is capable of playing some fast-paced innings, which could solve some problems for them at the top.

The Bangladesh team, on the other hand, might not be showing 100 percent consistency, but they will be high on confidence after defending a low total. They will most likely go with the same side in the upcoming fixture and hope they can get another good result. The Mehidy Hasan Miraz-led team will also want to back their players going into the decider on Tuesday.

SL Expected XI: Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (c), Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Asitha Fernando.

BAN Expected XI: Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (c), Jaker Ali (wk), Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Tanvir Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud.

The SL vs BAN third ODI will be digitally streamed on the FanCode and SonyLiv apps and websites in India, with the telecast of the same on the Sony Sports Network from 2:30 PM IST on Tuesday.