Australia vs Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I: Lasith Malinga vs James Faulkner and other key battles

Sri Lanka will look to whitewash hosts Australia in the third and final T20I of the ongoing series on Wednesday. Sri Lanka, who snatched back-to-back victories in the previous matches, have maintained their unbeaten tag in T20Is in Australia. In all probability, they will look to post another triumph and continue their domination Down Under in the shortest format. Australia, on the other hand, will play for pride and end the series on a high. Here are the key battles that are sure to keep the fans on the edge of their seats: FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Australia vs Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I at Adelaide

Aaron Finch vs Vikum Sanjaya: One is the driving force of the Australian batting line-up and the other a young bowler on his first international tour. Finch has already lost the series, but will look forward to give the visitors a good fight in the final match, not letting them pull off a 3-0 drubbing. Sanjaya, who has already dismissed Finch once in the series, will try to get him again. Sanjaya, however, has been extremely impressive with his line and length, and the Adelaide pitch might help him more as he bowls with the new ball.

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Upul Tharanga vs Pat Cummins: Though Tharanga led the side to a straight win in the series, his performance has not been up to the mark. He lacked confidence in the first match and threw his wicket to Cummins after struggling to find his feet. In the next match, he managed a boundary only to depart soon after that. This will be Tharanga’s final chance to set example as a skipper and his biggest challenge will be Cummins.

James Faulkner vs Lasith Malinga: Malinga has already been impressive with his fitness level as well as bowling in his comeback series. His accuracy looks unaffected even after staying away for almost a year. The veteran has bagged 4 wickets from the two matches. In the death overs, his toe-crushing yorkers are sure to be threats to the the fallible Australian batsmen. Nonetheless, one of the wickets that Malinga will cherish will be that of Faulkner, who is one of the most experienced players in the line-up.

Asela Gunaratne vs Ashton Turner: The biggest positive for Sri Lanka in this tour is Gunaratne. The strong middle-order batsman took the side to victory in both the matches with his electrifying batting. Two half-centuries in two matches has made him the hero of his side. However, it was Turner who had stopped him in the first match that turned the tables around for some time. Will he be able to pull off something similar in the third match as well?