Pakistan will compete Sri Lanka In the third of the three-match ODI series. This article provides details about the playing 11 of Sri Lanka vs Pakistan for the third match of the series.
Sri Lanka Playing XI vs Pakistan – 3rd ODI, Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan 2025
Openers: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara
1996 ODI World Cup winners Sri Lanka will look to show what they are capable of when they take the field to play the third and final ODI of the ongoing series against Pakistan.
The Charith Aslamka-led team will challenge the opposition and give them a tough fight with strong performances in all three departments of the game.
The visiting team will be confident of its batsmen to perform well against the in-form Pakistani bowling line-up.
For this to happen, the Sri Lankan team management will hope that the openers can give the team a good start in the first ten overs.
The opening pair of Pathum Nissanka and Kamil Mishara will look to deliver as a pair and also individually.
Additionally, the openers will hope that the middle-order takes advantage of the start given to them, as the team has been guilty of losing its way after good starts.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Kusal Mendis (wicketkeeper), Sadira Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka (captain), Kamindu Mendis, Zenith Liyanage, Wanindu Hasarnaga.
As mentioned, on several occasions over the last few years, Lanka have found themselves in a bit of a pickle after good starts, losing back-to-back wickets at crucial moments in the game.
The onus will be on captain Charith Asalanka to ensure that the same situation is not repeated in the upcoming match, and that Lanka, batting first, can score an above-par total or chase down any target set by the opposition.
Apart from Asalanka, experienced batsman Kusal Mendis and talented wicketkeeper Sadira Samarawickrama will also look to play important innings in the next game.
One of the major concerns of the Sri Lankan middle-order is their timid approach in the middle phase of the innings, which they would like to work on given the depth in Lanka’s batting lineup.
Bowlers: Pramod Madushan, Dushmantha Chameera, Asitha Fernando
Like their batting, Lanka’s bowling lineup is also top heavy in the sense that the new ball bowling duo of Dushmantha Chamara and Asitha Fernando is capable of taking wickets in the powerplay, but they have not received support.
After bowling out the opposition for a low score in the first half of the innings, lack of wickets has troubled Sri Lanka a lot in the previous matches and this is largely due to the bowling combination.
The Lankan management is going with only four specialist bowlers, which seems low in modern cricket.
It will be interesting to see whether Lanka stick with the same bowling combination of three specialist fast bowlers, a specialist spinner and a seam bowling all-rounder, or decide to make do with the lack of options in the bowling department.
If the team decides to stick with the same combination for the upcoming match, it will include Pramod Madushan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera and Asitha Fernando, while Zenith Liyanage will be the fifth bowling option.
