Live Cricket Score, South Africa vs Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI at Johannesburg; SA win by 7 wickets; take 3-0 lead

Hello and Welcome to CricketCountry’s live blog session and coverage of the third game of the five-match ODI series between South Africa and Sri Lanka at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Good Afternoon/Evening, Goeie Middag, සුබ සැන්දෑවක්! Hello and Welcome to CricketCountry’s live blog session and coverage of the third game of the five-match One-Day International (ODI) series between hosts South Africa, and visitors Sri Lanka, at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Saturday. I am Chinmay Jawalekar, and I will be bringing to you all the live updates from this fixture. South Africa are 2-0 up in the series, with an 8-wicket win in the opening game at Port Elizabeth and 121-run win in the second match at Durban. A win in the third game will give them the series. Sri Lanka, hence, will have an uphill task of winning the third ODI and staying alive the series. Full Cricket Scorecard: South Africa vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI at Johannesburg

It is not for the first time on this tour that the Sri Lankans find themselves in this position. They were 0-1 down in the three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series and had to win the remaining games to win the series. They did so and did it in style. A similar performance is required from Sri Lanka to keep the ODI series alive. They do not have the services of their inspirational skipper Angelo Mathews, who himself was at the centre of turnaround in T20I series. The stand-in skipper Upul Tharanga has been terribly off-colour in the series so far and his side will look up to him for inspiration on Saturday. South Africa vs Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI, Preview and Predictions

South Africa on the other hand have all their bases covered and look firm favourites to win the third ODI and with it, the series. Barring David Miller’s absence due to injury, they have nothing to worry about going into the third game at Johannesburg, which has gained importance in the context of the series. The two teams have met four times on this ground in their 25-year-old ODI history. Both teams have won two times each, thus sharing the honours. On Saturday, they will clash again, with enough motivation. For South Africa, it will be a chance to seal the series while for the Lankans, it will be an opportunity to save the series and keep the hopes of winning it alive.

Squads:

South Africa: AB de Villiers (c), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi.

Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga (c), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Chaturanga de Silva, , Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Asela Gunaratne, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Madushanka, Kusal Mendis, Sachith Pathirana, Lakshan Sandakan, Sandun Weerakkody, Lahiru Kumara, Vikum Sanjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay.

Full Cricket Scorecard: South Africa vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI at Johannesburg

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