The Sri Lankan team has been making headlines for the past sometime but for all disappointing reasons. While they have had a dismal run on the field against England in away fixtures, the off-field issues have also become a cause of concern for the board as well as the team management.
Sri Lankan batting line up has failed miserably in these white-ball fixtures against the English barring one or two players while the bowlers on the other side have tried to put in a lot of efforts to negotiate the dissatisfying run with the willow.
In the last encounter as well at Kennington Oval, the visitors lost the top order early in the innings and it was Dhananjaya de Silva and Shanaka who steadied the ship for the side and anchored them to a decent total.
Later, Sri Lanka did manage to scalp a couple of wickets that could have pushed the hosts on the backfoot but an unbeaten stand of 140 runs between captain Eoin Morgan and Test skipper Joe Root took them home and handed them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
England on the other hand are looking pretty stable now especially the way they fared in the last match. While Root continued his form, skipper Morgan was among some runs as well.
The fast bowlers have been in fine touch and have bowled some brilliant line and length to create problems for the Sri Lankan batting unit.
Match Details
Match – England vs Sri Lanka – 3rd match
Venue – County Ground, Bristol
Time – 03:30 PM IST, 11:00 AM Local
Where to watch live – Sony Sports Network and Sony Liv
Pitch Report
The pitch in Bristol might have something on offer to the batsmen. The teams can stick to the basics in this match. If you win the toss, bat first and post a good total on the board to push the opposition on backfoot.
Team News
England: England are looking pretty sorted with their batting as well as bowling. The likes of Root and Morgan scored runs in the last match while the bowlers have given a hard time to the Sri Lankan batsmen on this tour.
The hosts would now look to complete a clean sweep win in the series just as they did in the T20Is. But as they have sealed the series, there are chances that the English team might make some changes in the XI as well.
In fact Goerge Garton is likely to make his debut for England in this final encounter.
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka’s struggle both on and off the field are not coming to an end. While three of their players were suspended and sent back from the tour for breaching bio-bubble, the on field show has been disheartening.
The batsmen have struggled to get any form. Sri Lanka would now look to conclude the tour with some good performance in this last ODI. While the bowlers have been taking up some onus, the visitors only need their batsmen especially the top-order to compliment them and put some runs on the board.
Probable XI
England: Jonny Bairstow(wk), Liam Livingstone, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (C), Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, George Garton, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera (C), Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Ramesh Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Praveen Jayawickrama
Fantasy XI
Jonny Bairstow, Kusal Perera, Joe Root, Dasun Shanaka, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran (C), Wanindu Hasaranga, Dananjaya De Silva (VC), George Garton, Mark Wood, Dushmantha Chameera