Avishka Fernando, spinners help Sri Lanka beat sloppy India in third ODI, visitors take series 2-1

Sri Lanka has finally tasted success in the ongoing ODI series as they beat a sloppy Indian team in the third game as they avoided a whitewash. Team India dropped five catches in the second innings, which played a major part in the hosts winning the final ODI.

Sri Lanka stamped their authority in the first innings especially after the rain break as the spin duo of Akila Dananjaya and Praveen Jayawickrama skittled out Team India's middle-order as the visitors suffered a monumental collapse going from 102/1 to 195/8.

A 29-run stand between Rahul Chahar and Navdeep Sainai gave some respectability to the total but 225 was never going to be enough total on a good R Premadasa pitch.

However, poor fielding from the Indian side and opener Avishka Fernando's knock dashed all the hopes of visitors having any chance of defending that total.

Avishka got starts in the first two games but couldn't go on, however, he rectified that mistake and went on to score a match-winning knock of 76 runs, supported ably by Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who in his third game slammed his maiden half-century in the ODIs.

Sri Lanka suffered a stutter or two after twin strikes by Chetan Sakariya and at the end, just before the finishing line to Rahul Chahar, who got three wickets but the required rate didn't go into difficult zone ever because of the 109-run stand between Avishka and Rajapaksa.

Sri Lanka in the end got over the line by three wickets, however, it was India who won the series 2-1 after winning the first two games.