Who will win Australia vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20?
Sri Lanka scampered to victory in the second T20 international at Geelong and have taken an unsurpassable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. With the series already decided, Australia will now be playing for pride as they look for a consolation win in the third T20 to be played on February 22 at the Adelaide Oval. The match begins at 7:20 PM local time.
Aus vs SL 3rd T20: Where to watch/Live streaming
TV channels: Star Sports, Fox Sports, Willow TV
Live streaming: Bet365, Cricfix
Toss Prediction
In this season's Big Bash League, the side batting first at the Adelaide Oval won three times out of four. And also since the pitch has been batsman-friendly, the team that wins the toss in this match may want to bat first. Australia have won the toss each time they have played a T20 at this ground. We therefore predict the hosts to win the toss on Wednesday.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds and match prediction for Australia vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20....
Australia Team News & Playing 11
Team News
Leg-spinner Adam Zampa could replace paceman Andrew Tye who's expensive final over in the second T20 cost Australia the game. The rest of the lineup is expected to remain the same.
Key Players
Ben Dunk looked impressive in his 14-ball 32 in the second T20. He averaged 77.67 at the Adelaide Oval during the BBL and so we predict him to score the most runs for Australia in this match. The team will also bank on Moises Henriques who got a fifty the other night. James Faulkner and Adam Zampa will be the main weapons in Australia's seam and spin attacks respectively. The Sri Lankan batters might find it a tad difficult to score runs against these two bowlers.
Recent Form
Australia have managed to win just 6 out of the 14 T20s they have played since 2016 which is why their ICC T20 ranking has dropped down to no. 7. However before the start of this series, Australia had four wins from their last five matches.
Australia Predicted Playing 11
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M Klinger, AJ Finch (c), BR Dunk, MC Henriques, TM Head, AJ Turner, JP Faulkner, TD Paine (wk), PJ Cummins, JA Richardson, Adam Zampa.
Sri Lanka Team News & Playing 11
Team News
The ICC has imposed a two-match suspension on opening batsman Niroshan Dickwella for showing dissent after he was adjudged out by the umpire in the last game. He is likely to be replaced by left-arm spinner Lakshan Sandakan to bolster the team's spin attack.
Key Players
Asela Gunaratne has been Sri Lanka's best man with the bat on the tour so far. He scored 52 and an unbeaten 84 in the respective matches and we predict the in-form batsman to make another vital contribution in the third T20. Pace duo Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara have caused the most problems for the Australian batsmen. Malinga has taken two wickets in each game while Kulasekara bowled beautifully at the death to finish with a four-wicket haul in the last game.
Recent Form
Sri Lanka have now won their last four T20s in a row and all of these wins have come away from home. They are currently placed 8th on the ICC T20 rankings and a few more wins in this format will surely push them ahead of Australia.
Sri Lanka Predicted Playing 11
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WU Tharanga (c/wk), EMDY Munaweera, BKG Mendis, DAS Gunaratne, TAM Siriwardana, CK Kapugedera, S Prasanna, KMDN Kulasekara, SL Malinga, JRMVB Sanjaya, Lakshan Sandakan.
Team Form in Last Five Matches (most recent first)
Australia: L L W W L
Sri Lanka: L L L L W
Australia vs Sri Lanka Head to Head
This is the first time that Australia will be facing Sri Lanka in a T20 contest at the Adelaide Oval. Overall, the two teams have played 12 T20s against each other in the past with the latter winning 8 of them. The hosts have been beaten by the visitors 7 times in the past 9 encounters.
Australia vs Sri Lanka Betting Odds
Despite Sri Lanka having already clinched the series, the market still refuses to show confidence in the tourists who once again start as outsiders at 2.94 with betfair and 2.75 with bet365. Australia may have ended up on the losing side in both the games, but the fact that Sri Lanka won on the final ball of each game goes to show how closely these battles have been fought. 1xbet and bet365 have the hosts installed as healthy favorites again for this third T20 at 1.51 and 1.44 respectively.
Australia vs Sri Lanka Prediction
While Australia have now been defeated by an Asian opposition for the sixth time in ten T20s, Sri Lanka have now recorded wins in their last four T20s outside of home. So while one's graph seems to be going downhill, another's has started to take off. Australia will be livid with themselves as they let the last game slip away even after having a tight grip over it. But at the same time, they will be confident that if they don't repeat the mistakes from the last game, they still stand a strong chance of finishing the series on a high.
Another thing that will add fuel to their hopes is that Sri Lanka have never whitewashed an opposition in a three-match T20 series. Plus, they have lost their opener Dickwella and they don't have any prior experience of playing a 20-overs game at the Adelaide Oval. So even though Australia have never won a T20 at this ground, we predict them to break the jinx and win this final game of the series.
Final Verdict: Back Australia to beat Sri Lanka in the third T20 at 1.51 with 1xbet and 1.44 with bet365.
Feb 22, 2017
14:20 IST / 8:50 GMT
Adelaide Oval - Adelaide, Australia
AUS VS SL T20 
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