Afghanistan opt to bat vs Sri Lanka

Afghanistan won the toss and decided to bat first in the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka in Pallekele. Sri Lanka have already won the series, holding an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Both sides have made two changes apiece. For Afghanistan, seamer Fareed Ahmad and left-arm spinner Sharafuddin Ashraf came in for Noor Ahmad and Gulbadin Naib. Sri Lanka’s spin pairing of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana were rested, with spin-bowling allrounder Dunith Wellalage and offspinner Akila Dananjaya coming in to replace them.

In terms of where they hope to improve, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said: “In the last game, our fielding was not good enough; we dropped many catches. We also lost back-to-back wickets, so we’re going to try put on good partnerships this time around.”

In terms of the pitch and conditions, there were concerns over the possibility of rain, with conditions a little gloomy earlier. But the sun came out later on, and it looked set to stay that way. The pitch was the same as the one used in the second ODI, but was expected to be drier and a touch slower. Farveez Maharoof said the par score could be around 275-280, with dew possibly a factor later on.

Sri Lanka: 1 Avishka Fernando, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Kusal Mendis (capt, wk), 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Janith Liyanage, 7 Dunith Wellalage, 8 Akila Dananjaya, 9 Asitha Fernando, 10 Pramod Madushan, 11 Dilshan Madushanka

Afghanistan: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 6 Azmatullah Omarzai, 7 Sharafuddin Ashraf, 8 Mohammad Nabi, 9 Fareed Ahmad, 10 Fazalhaq Farooqi, 11 Qais Ahmad