Sri Lanka vs Australia 3rd ODI Prediction

If AUS Bat First

Predicted Score: Around 240

Their regular skipper and in-form batsman Steven Smith has flown back home to take rest ahead of a busy Australian schedule. This should make way for either Usman Khawaja or Shaun Marsh into the side. Warner was their best bet given his good record in sub-continent conditions, but he hasn't got going yet. Bailey could not convert the starts he got in both the games into big ones while Wade fought a lone battle in the last match, scoring 76 off 88 balls. Australia will need good scores from Warner, Bailey and Wade if they are to reach the predicted score.

Sri Lanka could open their bowling with Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera. The latter got rid of both the openers in the last match and he is expected to cause some early damage on Sunday as well. But it is the spinners that have troubled the Australians the most on this tour. Dilruwan Perera bagged three wickets in the first match while it was Amila Aponso's four-for that left the visitors reeling in the second one. The left-armer Aponso finished with an economy rate of 1.92 and he is a favorite for the best bowling figures in the third one-dayer. Australia will have to come up with a strategy to tackle the Lankan spin attack, otherwise they will be under the risk of being tamed again.

SL vs AUS Head-to-Head in ODIs

Australia have now played a total of 27 ODIs in Sri Lanka against the hosts and have won 10 of these matches. Sri Lanka have won 14 of them while three games did not produce any result.

The two teams have met twice at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium and have won one game each. Sri Lanka won the last of the two encounters here by 1 run in 2004.

Our Prediction

Australia's spin woes just don't seem to come to an end. They struggled against Dilruwan Perera in the first game and had no clues against Aponso in the next. Moreover, Smith has left the side at a time when they needed him the most, and now leading the team will be David Warner who has not led Australia ever before. He himself is struggling with the bat, having scored in single digits so far, and it is unlikely that the additional pressure of captaincy will do his form any good.

Australia's best chance will be to dismiss Sri Lanka with as few runs on the board as possible, just like they did in the first match. If there are able to do this, they will be in with more of a chance as they can play out the spinners without taking too many risks.

Sri Lanka are keen to give Dilshan a goodbye gift with a win, and with Steven Smith out of the picture, we won't hesitate in deeming the hosts as favorites to win this third one-day international.