Quick guide:
India vs Sri Lanka – 3rd ODI Post Match Analysis
Sri Lanka finally managed to win a game in the ODI series against India as they defeated India by three wickets in the final ODI of the three-match series.
India won the toss and decided to bat first on what looked like a good wicket to bat on. Indian batsmen failed to score big as they were dismissed for 225 in 43.1 overs. In reply, even though Sri Lanka lost seven wickets they were in control of the run-chase as they chased down the target in 39 overs.
Read: Sri Lanka earn consolation win courtesy Avishka Fernando
Let us have a look at some numbers from the 3rd ODI.
Batting and bowling averages in each phase
| Team | Phase | Batting Average | Bowling Average |
| India | 1-10 | 66 | 55 |
| Sri Lanka | 1-10 | 55 | 66 |
| India | 11-38 | 20.42 | 32.8 |
| Sri Lanka | 11-38 | 32.8 | 20.42 |
| India | 39-43.1 | 8 | 8 |
| Sri Lanka | 39-43.1 | 8 | 8 |
Both the teams started off well as they lost only one wicket in the first powerplay. It is the second phase were Sri Lanka managed to perform better than India. India kept losing wickets and hence they ended up with an average of 20.42 whereas Sri Lanka ended with a much higher average of 32.8. The Sri Lankan spinners spun a web around the Indian batsmen which turned the game in their favour.
Powerplay Comparison
Both the teams had a good start and that’s why the scoring rate in the first powerplay for both the teams is pretty good. India scored at 6.6 runs per over in the first ten overs while Sri Lanka went at 5.5. There is not much to choose between the two teams in the first powerplay. It is in the middle-overs where India lost the plot and Sri Lanka turned the game.
India’s scoring rate dropped from 6.6 to 5.1 in the middle-overs. While 5.1 runs per over is still a decent run-rate, they also kept losing wickets which hampered their progress. In this period, the Sri Lankan spinners found some turn and dismissed crucial batsmen like Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka’s batsmen not only maintained the scoring rate from the first ten overs but bettered it in the second powerplay. Avishka Fernando and Bhanuka Rajapaksa put on a partnership in which they kept finding boundaries easily. Their scoring rate increased to 5.9 runs per over in the second powerplay and so the asking rate was never an issue for the Sri Lankan team in the run-chase.
India in first 10 and last 10 overs
India completely faltered in the last powerplay as their scoring rate dropped down to 3.8 runs per over as compared to 6.6 runs per over in the first ten overs. The sole reason for that being the loss of wickets in the middle-overs. When the last powerplay started, the likes of Rahul Chahar and Navdeep Saini were batting who are in the team as bowlers. They tried their best to score some runs but weren’t successful in scoring quickly.
Special Mentions
- 1980 was the last time when India played five debutants in an ODI game. They did it in this game after 41 years.
- 2012 was the last time when Sri Lanka had defeated India in Sri Lanka in the ODI format before the 3rd ODI of this series.
- 107 was the batting average of Navdeep Saini in the ODI format before he got dismissed for 15.
- 3 times Prithvi Shaw has been dismissed in the 40s in his short ODI career of 6 matches.
- 14 March 2021 was the last time India had won the toss before this game. 9 matches later Shikhar Dhawan managed to win a toss for India.
~Shubham Kulkarni (Stats analyst)
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