Rain washed out the third ODI between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Pallekele, resulting in a 2-0 series win for Sri Lanka. This victory marked Sri Lanka’s fifth ODI series win of the year.
The match had a promising start with New Zealand winning the toss and opting to bat on a fresh pitch, expected to be more favorable for batting compared to the previous sluggish surfaces. New Zealand made an encouraging start, maintaining a steady scoring rate just under six runs per over. A significant portion of their runs came from the wayward bowling of Dilshan Madushanka, who was expensive and struggled with his lines and lengths. Madushanka was removed from the attack after his two overs went for 23 runs. New Zealand capitalized on his mistakes, with their first five boundaries coming off his bowling.
However, Sri Lanka’s seamers and spinners kept things tight. Mohamed Shiraz, in just his second ODI, bowled with impressive control, taking the only wicket of the innings. His five overs cost only 23 runs, with 20 dot balls highlighting his accuracy. Despite this, New Zealand’s Will Young and Henry Nicholls remained untroubled, with the pair building a solid partnership of 88 runs off 106 balls. Young was on 56, and Nicholls was on 46 when rain brought the match to an early halt after 21 overs.
The abandonment of the match meant both teams missed the chance to test their bench strength. New Zealand gave debuts to Zakary Foulkes and Adam Milne, while Sri Lanka made five changes, including debuts for Chamindu Wickramasinghe and Nuwanidu Fernando.
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