The third One-Day International between Sri Lanka and India had different prospects for both teams. While India eyed to give the opportunity to fresh faces, Sri Lanka hoped to get crucial points in Super League and a consolation win to go with momentum in the T20I series.
Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and opted to bat first. India named five debutants – Sanju Samson, Nitish Rana, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham and Chetan Sakariya – for this game. Dhawan looked solid before getting out but Prithvi Shaw was in the mood to play a big knock. He found a good ally in debutant Samson, who batted at number three.
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Shaw and Samson played good shots but threw their good starts while in their 40s. Suryakumar Yadav, too, got out in the 40s and left the rest of the batsmen to do the repair job. India lost wickets in a cluster and went from 179/4 to 195/8 in no time.
Rahul Chahar and Navdeep Saini hung their bats to drag the Indian total to 225. The match was reduced to 47 overs due to rain and the revised target for Sri Lanka was 227 runs to win the final ODI.
In response, Sri Lanka started their pursuit of the target cautiously. Minod Bhanuka was dismissed by K Gowtham in his first over. Avishka Fernando and Bhanuka Rajapaska shared a 109-run stand for the second wicket before the latter got out after scoring stroke-filled 65 runs in 56 balls, where he hit 12 fours.
Chetan Sakariya tried to bring India back with two quick wickets but Fernando was reluctant. He held the one end tight and shared another crucial partnership with Charith Asalanka, who scored vital 24 runs before getting out to Hardik Pandya. Fernando got out after scoring 76 runs but took Sri Lanka within touching distance.
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Sri Lanka crawled past India’s total with three wickets in hand and eight overs to spare. This was their second ODI victory of 2021.
See how Twitter reacted to this game;
Both teams, both coaches looked pleased with the effort. But after game 1, India would’ve expected to win it in a much more comprehensive manner. Small margins in the last two games. But the boys played well.. Heart always goes fuzzy wuzzy warm on seeing Sakariya 💙 .. #IndvSL
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) July 23, 2021
A win .. A win … A win for SL #SlvInd Well done on hanging in there and getting over the line .. Relief indeed .. but a win would bring belief and more to work with than when the series began.
— Russel Arnold (@RusselArnold69) July 23, 2021
Sri Lanka win! 👏
Half-centuries from Fernando and Rajapaksa propel the hosts to a three-wicket victory despite a late slide.
India still win the series 2-1.#SLvIND | https://t.co/eLmZty22kE pic.twitter.com/Fbc8lRwh8y
— ICC (@ICC) July 23, 2021
Despite five debutantes, Team India nearly pulled out the third odi. Result doesn't matter but the fighting spirit shown by boys does. So many positive from #INDvsSL
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) July 23, 2021
You can have an off day in batting. Or bowling. But not while fielding. Especially with the young legs – too many catches have gone down today. No excuses #INDvSL
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) July 23, 2021
76 runs 👏
4 fours ⚡
1 six 🔥Avishka Fernando is the Player of the Match!#SLvIND pic.twitter.com/4PWi7idRuM
— ICC (@ICC) July 23, 2021
Congratulations Team India on the series win. Away wins always special🇮🇳😊 Set batsmen not making it big cost us today. That's where they can learn from @ImRo45 and @imVkohli. Dropped catches, 25+ extras hurt too. Congrats on today's win @OfficialSLC 👏🏻 They needed this. #SLvIND
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) July 23, 2021
Well done to Sri Lanka today – they win by three wickets. India win the series 2-1. Rahul Chahar was impressive in his debut 👀 next stop: T20s. But tomorrow night let me get some good rest hey? 😂 it’s 4:10am here. #SLvIND
— Chloe-Amanda Bailey (@ChloeAmandaB) July 23, 2021
If India don't play another ODI in 2021, and there is every chance they won't, they will close the year with only six ODIs, the least they have played in a calendar year since 1980. #SLvInd
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) July 23, 2021
