3rd T20I: Sri Lanka ask India to bat first; Hardik, Rishabh, Axar, Arshdeep rested

Pallekele, July 30 : Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to field first against India in the inconsequential third and final T20I of the series at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium here on Tuesday. India have rested Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh for the match as they have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka said they have made one change in the side.

"We are going to bowl first. Looks like a dry pitch. There was a batting collapse, when the ball gets older it's a bit harder to bat. We have planned a little bit differently. One change, Wickramasinghe comes in for Shanaka," he said at the toss.

On the other hand, India made four changes in their playing eleven to give match time for other squad members.

"Would've liked to chase as well with the weather around. Becomes difficult for the bowling team to control the ball later. We have 4 guys resting -- Hardik, Axar, Rishabh and Arshdeep. We spoke about the brand of cricket we want to play and it's about topping it up every game and being the best version of ourselves," India captain Suryakumar Yadav said.

Playing XIs:

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Khaleel Ahmed

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (c), Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ramesh Mendis, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Asitha Fernando.


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