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AUS 227/8 in 46 Ovs | Sri Lanka vs Australia, 3rd ODI Live Updates: AUS win

Welcome to CricketCountry's live match coverage of the third One-Day International (ODI) between Australia and Sri Lanka.

Greetings everyone! Welcome to CricketCountry’s live match coverage of the third One-Day International (ODI) between Australia and Sri Lanka. The series is level at 1-1 as of now, but after today we will most probably have a team leading the series. While it will be the last ODI match for Sri Lanka’s veteran opener Tillakaratne Dilshan, his team would want to bring out their A game and give him a fantastic send off. On the other hand, Australia would be wanting to bounce back after their loss in Colombo. The last few days have been about them having to justify their captain Steven Smith’s early departure from the tour as David Warner takes charge. LIVE CRICKET SCOECARD: Sri Lanka vs Australia 2016, 3rd ODI at Dambulla

Having won the first match by 7 wickets and taken a 1-0 lead, Australia finally had a win in their bag after a disastrous Test series whitewash at the hand of the Lankans. An 82-run loss in the second ODI levelled it it up for Sri Lanka, courtesy Amila Aponso who took four wickets for the team. Angelo Mathews and his men are pumping with confidence.

A struggling-with-form-Warner, now has another task to deal with, captaincy. Whether he will relish it or succumb to it, will be interesting to see. He will certainly have to lift the mood in the dressing room after Australia’s nightmare against spin has left it dull and low on confidence. At Dambulla, a spinning track might again be seen going by the trend. The wickets have been tough to bat on and score runs so far. The conditions will be challenging for the batsmen, that looks like it is a given.

Sri Lanka might not make any changes in the team, and go in with the same playing eleven. meanwhile, Australia might bring in Shaun Marsh as a replacement to Smith. The left-hander scored a hundred in the third Test at Colombo and will want to make most of his chance.

Going by the performance of the previous tie, changes are likely for the visiting Australian side, as all-rounder Moises Henrqiues could face the axe, and could well be replaced by Josh Hazlewood as the extra pacer, while Aaron Finch could also face the axe, and could bring in Usman Khawaja as the opener. Also, with Smith not playing, Warner would be leading the side and would be interesting to see whom he replaces him with, as Marsh seems to be the top contender to do so. As for the bowling, the changes are unlikely, as they did perform as a unit.

Ahead of the game at Damubulla, both the captains said that the wickets have indeed been challenging in this series, and batting second has been a tough task, as both the teams look to perform, especially with the bat, regardless of the side they come up with and field for the match. As for Australian coach Darren Lehmann, he said that he wants his prayers to find solutions, despite of the challenges coming ahead in the series.

Earlier, Mathews had all praise for Kusal Mendis, following the 2nd ODI win over the Aussies. “He’s going to be a big player for us. He’s going to be the future of our batting. If he keeps going like this he will do wonders for the Sri Lanka team and I wish him all the very best. It was a fantastic knock today,” Mathews told espncricinfo.com. Lehmann backs Cricket Australia’s decision to rest Smith for rest of Sri Lanka series

“He’s just very positive. Especially after losing a couple of wickets in quick succession, the way he went out there and the way he batted was brilliant. Not too many people do that – you take a bit of time and settle in and take a look at the wicket. But he’s just going out there and playing with a lot of freedom. He’s just a different kind of player,” Mathews added.

Mathews also praised Aponso for his terrific spin bowling. “Not all the spinners bowled very well out there, apart from Amila Aponso – in the first game as well as this game. He’s bowled in these two matches like he’s played internationals for a long time. He’s just landing it on the spot and keeping it pretty simple – just bowling it there and letting the ball do the rest. He’s been turning a few and sliding a few. It’s been extremely difficult for the batters,” said Mathews.

Mathews also added a few word of praise for Chandimal, who has been in good form since the Test series. “Chandimal’s been tremendous for us in the Test series and also in England. He’s matured. He’s also playing with a lot of responsibility – as a senior. He’s anchoring the innings and that’s what we want from him. Him batting at No. 4, we want him to bat until the 46th over, so that guys like Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera and Danushka Gunathilaka can go out there and play with a lot of freedom. In our batting line up myself and Chandimal have to take the responsibility to let the youngsters play with freedom,” said Mathews.

Speaking on Dilshan’s failure to perform and if he would be dropped, he quickly said, “No matter how experienced you are, it doesn’t mean you will play well all the time. You can get unlucky and get out. I got out cheaply in the last game as well. Though Dilshan failed in this match, others played well and won it. We trust that he will play well in the future.”

Squads:

Australia: David Warner (c), Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, George Bailey, Matthew Wade (wk), Moises Henriques, Travis Head, James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja.

Sri Lanka: Danushka Gunathilaka, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Angelo Mathews (c), Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Dilruwan Perera, Amila Aponso, Suranga Lakmal, Angelo Perera, Avishka Fernando, Lakshan Sandakan, Milinda Siriwardana.

LIVE CRICKET SCOECARD: Sri Lanka vs Australia 2016, 3rd ODI at Dambulla

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