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England
Sri Lanka
England and Sri Lanka will meet in the 3rd ODI at the Kennington Oval in London, with the series level at 1-1. England will look to finish the tour with another series win after taking the T20I series 3-0, while Sri Lanka will aim to carry the momentum from their 16-run win in the second ODI.
England have shown stronger batting form across the tour, but Sri Lanka will have already proved they can defend a big total. In the first ODI, England had scored 265 before bowling Sri Lanka out for 176, while the second match saw Sri Lanka post 321 and defend the target successfully.
The head-to-head record also points to a close contest, with both teams having won 3 of their last 6 ODIs. 4 of those 6 matches have been won by the team batting first and defending the total.
Kusal Mendis has scored 163 runs at an average of 81.50 in this ODI series and comes into the match after making 121 off 100 balls in the previous game.
The betting tip is...
Kusal Mendis - Over 27.5 runs
61 %
39 %
EnglandSri LankaEngland has a strong batting unit going into the third ODI, with Jos Buttler and Harry Brook in good form and Joe Root adding experience to the middle order.
In the series, Buttler has scored 100 runs at an average of 50, while Ben Duckett has made 99 at 49.50. Four England batters scored fifty-plus scores in the second ODI during the chase.
Root has scored 582 runs in his last 10 ODIs at an average of 97 and a strike rate of 89.4. Duckett has added 400 runs at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 91.95. With the ball, Will Jacks and Jofra Archer have taken 5 and 4 wickets respectively in the series. Archer has taken 9 wickets in his last 7 ODIs at an economy rate of 5.33.
Root, Brook and Buttler are the key batters in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Tom Banton, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Will Jacks, Rehan Ahmed, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue.
Sri Lanka had several players in good touch after their six-run win in the second ODI. Kusal Mendis led the batting effort with 121 runs from 100 balls at a strike rate of 121.00, while Kamindu Mendis scored 54 from 65 balls.
Pavan Rathnayake added 48 from 39 balls, and Janith Liyanage made 32 from 26 balls. Kusal Mendis had also been the leading run-scorer in the series with 163 runs at an average of 81.50.
With the ball, Dunith Wellalage took three wickets while Dilshan Madushanka and Eshan Malinga claimed two wickets each. Asitha Fernando and Sachindu Colombage took one wicket apiece. Wellalage had taken four wickets in two ODIs at an average of 27.25, while Colombage had also taken four at 24.75.
Kusal, Nissanka and Asalanka are the key batters in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis (c, wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Sachindu Colombage, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando and Dilshan Madushanka.
Both batting units will enter the third ODI with confidence after producing a competitive total in the last match. Another high-scoring contest will be possible, with several batters capable of making fifty-plus scores. Kusal Mendis will be the key player for Sri Lanka after scoring 121 from 100 balls in the second ODI.
He will also be the leading run-scorer in the series with 163 runs at an average of 81.50. Across his last 10 ODIs for Sri Lanka, Mendis will have scored 428 runs at an average of 53.5. With his recent form and strong record, he will be expected to make another useful contribution with the bat.
