(Image source from: x.com/OfficialSLC)
Avishka Fernando's exceptional 96-run knock, the series' highest individual score, and Dunith Wellalage's impressive 5-wicket haul led Sri Lanka to a dominant 110-run victory over India in the third and final ODI in Colombo. This triumph marked Sri Lanka's first ODI bilateral series win against India in 27 years. India's struggles against spin bowling continued, as they lost nine wickets to spinners for the third consecutive match, amounting to a total of 27 wickets over the three-game series. Wellalage emerged as the primary tormentor this time, recording figures of 5 for 27, but throughout the series, Sri Lanka's spin trio of Wanindu Hasaranga, Jeffrey Vandersay, and even Charith Asalanka had posed significant challenges for the Indian batters. Apart from Rohit Sharma's brief cameo of 35 off 20 deliveries, India failed to mount a consistent challenge, as Wellalage dismissed the Indian captain with a caught-behind dismissal before he could make a significant impact on the scorecard.
Avishka's remarkable 96-run knock off 102 deliveries earlier in the day had set up Sri Lanka's innings remarkably well. Despite a slight collapse that saw them lose 5 wickets for just 28 runs, the home team's innings remained firmly on track. Avishka's contributions were crucial, as he was part of Sri Lanka's two most productive partnerships - 89 and 82 runs for the first and second wickets respectively. However, his success was not due to any exceptional spin-bowling prowess, but rather his ability to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the Indian seamers. While Shivam Dube bowled economically, conceding just 9 runs in his 4 overs, Mohammed Siraj endured a forgettable outing, recording his joint-worst figures in ODIs - 78 runs in 9 overs, with Avishka accounting for 36 of those runs at a strike rate of 200. This was more a reflection of Siraj's struggles with line and length, rather than any particular skill exhibited by Avishka.
Siraj failed to capitalize on the opportunities presented, consistently bowling too straight, which allowed his opponent, Avishka, to score 32 out of the 36 runs in the square or behind square areas on the onside. Anything that was not up to par was swiftly dismissed, while Siraj's approach lacked the necessary variation to contain Avishka's scoring. Parag's debut performance shone bright, despite Siraj struggling. He claimed the key wicket of Avishka, trapping him in front with a leg-break that skidded in. He then bamboozled Asalanka, the delivery straightening and sneaking past his defense to hit the stumps. Parag's best moment came when he deceived the dangerous Wellalage, the ball dipping and turning to beat the outside edge and knock over the off-stump. While his economy rate was affected by late strikes, the other spinners - Axar, Kuldeep, and Washington - were incredibly miserly, each picking up a wicket and conceding less than 4.10 runs per over. Parag and his spin partners had to be patient, as Sri Lanka's top order batters, Nissanka and Mendis, put on a solid partnership. But the middle order collapsed again, slipping from 171/1 to 199/6, unable to sustain the strong start.
Throughout the 48th to 72nd deliveries, not a single boundary was hit, resulting in a mere 49 runs accumulated. This slowed the progress towards the initial target of around 280, leaving them struggling to reach even 250. Fortunately, Mendis, one of Sri Lanka's more adept players against spin, stepped up late in the innings, unleashing some powerful strokes to propel the total closer to 240. While this score seemed reasonably competitive, it fell short of the promising start made by Avishka and the others. Yet, this total ultimately proved sufficient in the end.
