SL vs AFG, 3rd ODI: Visitors eye redemption in decider

Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will battle it out in the third and final ODI of the series, which happens to be a decider. While the visitors comprehensively clinched the opener by six wickets, the Lankans made a thumping comeback and walked away with a 132-run win in the following game. Here we present the preview of the duel.

Hambantota's Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium will host this duel on June 7 (Wednesday). The first two ODIs were also played here as batters enjoyed operating here. Chasing teams have overall won 12 of the 25 ODIs played here as the average score in the first innings read 254. Live streaming of the contest will be available on the FanCode app and website (10:00am IST).

Sri Lanka and Afghanistan have so far faced each other in nine ODIs. While the Lankan Lions have won five, Afghanistan have come out victorious on three occasions (NR: 1). The two sides previously met in the format in November 2022 as the series ended in a 1-1 tie. That series was Afghanistan's maiden ODI assignment on SL soil.

Chasing 324 in the second game, Afghanistan were comfortably placed at 146/2. However, what followed was a middle-order collapse as the visitors were folded for 191. Spinners Wanindu Hasaranga and Dhananjaya de Silva did the damage with three wickets apiece. Notably, the injured Rashid Khan is set to miss the third ODI as well. The Lankans should be confident ahead of the final affair.

Sri Lanka (Probable XI): Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (wicket-keeper), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (captain), Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha. Afghanistan (Probable XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicket-keeper), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik.

Ibrahim Zadran smoked fifties in the first two ODIs of the series. With four wickets, Fareed Ahmad Malik is the leading wicket-taker of the series. Hasaranga claimed figures with 3/54 besides scoring an unbeaten 12-ball 29 in the preceding game. De Silva owns 80 runs and three wickets in the series. Fazalhaq Farooqi has claimed 19 wickets in 12 ODIs at 26.57 since 2022.

Fantasy XI (Option 1): Kusal Mendis, Dimuth Karunaratne, Ibrahim Zadran (captain), Charith Asalanka, Rahmat Shah, Dhananjaya de Silva, Mohammad Nabi, Wanindu Hasaranga (vice-captain), Kasun Rajitha, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi. Fantasy XI (Option 2): Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Charith Asalanka, Pathum Nissanka (captain), Rahmat Shah, Dhananjaya de Silva, Mohammad Nabi, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi (vice-captain), Dushmantha Chameera, Noor Ahmad.