Sri Lanka may well feel that the rain denied them the chance to level up the ODI series with Bangladesh in midweek but they can’t afford for any such issues in the third and final game between the two in Colombo on Saturday else they will have lost the series.
Bangladesh head into the match knowing a win will secure a famous series victory while whatever happens here they will be assured of at least a share of the spoils which is already pretty significant.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka had put up a decent score in the second game earlier in the week and the general consensus was that it was enough to defend and level the series. Unfortunately for them we will never know because the rain arrived and never relented and given that Sri Lanka dropped the opening game of the series they can now no longer win it.
In truth while it was a good thing for Sri Lanka to find something with the bat in the previous match it is with the ball where they need to stand up and be counted in this final game if they are to level the series. They were poor with the ball and even worse in the field in the opening match and anything to that standard simply won’t be good enough.
Bangladesh
We will find out even more about Bangladesh in this match. I know bilateral series lack sufficient context but the Tigers have the rare chance to win a series on the road against an illustrious side so for them this should be a bigger deal than it usually might. We will find out if they can handle the pressure of that situation or not.
Although Sri Lanka’s score looked good in the previous match I wouldn’t think Bangladesh would have been too concerned. I say that because it was only one or two partnerships which got away from them. It wasn’t like everyone contributed against them so if they can keep things tight in the middle overs and force pressure they can still come out on top.
Team News
You wouldn’t think after making three changes for the previous match that Sri Lanka would move again so they might well be unchanged given that the likes of Niroshan Dickwella has been ruled out of the series.
Bangladesh have no reason to change anything so unless they want to adjust to different conditions we can expect them to be unchanged too.
Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
This will be the first ODI held here in almost six years but there have been plenty of domestic cricket on the ground with a series of low scores generally the order of the day.
In all there have been 59 ODIs on this ground. Sri Lanka have only played in 38 of them but they have a 22-11 winning record with five no results. Bangladesh have lost nine of their 10 matches on this ground but they are a much better side now.
Betting
I took Bangladesh in the first two ODIs and I don’t see a reason to move from them now. Sri Lanka should have a bit more confidence going into this match but there’s no reason why Bangladesh won’t fancy their chances too.
Recent history suggests that batting here is tricky so it could be that the extra depth that Bangladesh have and more batsmen in genuine form could prove to be the difference. I see the value in the visitors once again here.
Tips
Back Bangladesh to win 3rd ODI for a 4/10 stake at 2.25 with Titanbet
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