Match Prediction: Who Will Win the 3rd ODI Between India and Sri Lanka?

Sri Lanka came so close to winning the second ODI and taking the series against India to a decider, but it was not to be. When all looked lost for India, Deepak Chahar, who had a previous best score of 12, scored 69 runs to lead his team home. It was a great match, and the Sri Lanka team can be proud of the performance that they put in, but our previous match prediction held out and India won. This 3rd ODI might be a dead rubber in name, but neither team will want to lose it.

Read our match prediction for the 3rd ODI India v Sri Lanka game below.

Sri Lanka Team News

Sri Lanka put in a much better batting performance in the second ODI than they did in the first, but they will still feel like they left plenty of runs out there on the table. Five of their batsmen passed 30, but only two of them went on to score more than 50 runs.

Sri Lanka's batting has plenty of room for improvement, but we think if they play to their full potential then they can easily pass the 300 mark. However, they need to be a lot smarter when facing the Indian spin bowlers. It is all well and good trying to score off every ball, but sometimes you just have to acknowledge that the bowler has bowled a good ball and defend it. After all, a batsman cannot score runs sitting in the pavilion.

While their batting improved in the second match, their bowling did not. Wanindu Hasaranga was the only one that looked like he was troubling the Indian batsmen. He picked up 3 wickets for just 37 runs in the ten overs that he bowled. He was so much better than his fellow bowlers that you should consider betting on him to be Sri Lanka's top bowler once again in this third and final ODI.

The lack of penetration and control from the rest of the bowling unit is the reason why Sri Lanka lost the second game, and there is no easy solution to this problem. They might make a couple of changes to their bowling attack, but we do not think that the changes will make a huge difference in all honesty.

India Team News

India might have the series wrapped up, but we do not think that they have been as impressive as they could be, especially in the bowling department. The fast bowlers have been lacking in pace, while the spinner have been serving up too many half-volleys for our liking. The only reason that India has not been punished for this is that Sri Lanka's batsmen have lacked the discipline to take advantage.

India's strength in this series has been their batting. Even when wickets kept falling in the second match, the run-rate remained high, meaning that the lower order were never under immense pressure to keep up with the run-rate. Ishan Kishan, Prithvi Shaw, and Suryakumar Yadav will always attack regardless of the match situation. The Indian batsman smacked 31 fours in their innings, which was comfortably more than what the Sri Lankans managed, and the same will probably happen in this third ODI.

Since the series has been decided, we are sure that India will make a couple of changes. For instance, Sanju Samson is fit again, so we are pretty sure he will be given a chance to impress. Whatever changes India decide to make, they will still have a better batting unit than Sri Lanka.

Toss Prediction

The captain that goes on to win the toss will probably decide to bat first. The previous two matches have been won by the team that batted second, but this will probably not influence the winning captain. They will want to get as many runs on the board as possible and put a lot of pressure on their opponents in the second innings.

Pitch and Conditions

There is a bit of rain forecast in Colombo on the day, so there could be quite a number of stoppages. There is a small chance that the match might not finish at all. The fact that there could be some weather about is another reason why the team that wins the toss will probably opt to bat first.

Up until this point, the pitch has been great for batting and this will not change. There will be no pace for the fast bowlers and the spinners will have to put in a lot of graft to pick up wickets. The team batting first will be hoping to score around 300.

Our Match Prediction

We believe that India will claim the win and make it a 3-0 series win. They have won their last ten games against the Sri Lankans, and we do not see this streak being broken this time. India's batting line up is stronger than Sri Lanka's, and this is what should help India to secure a 3-0 win.

Our India v Sri Lanka 1st ODI Match Prediction: