Toss Zimbabwe chose to bat vs Sri Lanka

Zimbabwe have chosen to bat first in the third ODI against Sri Lanka, having won the toss under cloudy skies at Kettarama.

The visitors made three changes to their XI, strengthening their bowling by bringing in left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza in place of offspinner Tapiwa Mufudza, swapping out Faraz Akram for Luke Jongwe, while Takudzwanashe Kaitano – who had played the first ODI – replaces Tinashe Kamunhukamwe at the top of the order.

Sri Lanka made two changes, meanwhile. Opener Shevon Daniel has been handed a debut, allowing captain Kusal Mendis to move back down to his more familiar No. 3 role. The batter making way is former captain Dasun Shanaka, who has had two unsuccessful batting outings this series, following a torrid several months in the national team.

The other change is the re-entry of a fit-again Wanindu Hasaranga, who strengthens the hitting lower down the order as well as providing a top spin option. This will be his first ODI since the World Cup Qualifier tournament in July last year. He’d missed the entirety of the Asia Cup and World Cup, as well as the first two games of this series, with injury. Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay makes way for him.

Though Zimbabwe lost the second match, their bowlers had made a chase of 209 incredibly tough for Sri Lanka, even dominating at times. Their seamers – led by Richard Ngarava – were especially effective. They must win this match in order to square the series.

Both previous matches at Kettarama were rain-affected. The first match was washed out without a result, while the second saw a significant rain delay, though not long enough to see the number of overs reduced. It seemed likely at the toss that rain may play a part in this game too.

Sri Lanka: 1 Avishka Fernando, 2 Shevon Daniel, 3 Kusal Mendis (capt/wk), 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5 Janith Liyanage, 6 Charith Asalanka, 7 Sahan Arachchige, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Dilshan Madushanka

Zimbabwe: 1 Joylord Gumbie, 2 Takudzwanashe Kaitano, 3 Milton Shumba, 4 Craig Ervine (capt), 5 Sikandar Raza, 6 Ryan Burl, 7 Clive Madande (wk), 8 Luke Jongwe, 9 Blessing Muzarabani, 10 Richard Nagarawa, 11 Wellington Masakadza