SL vs ZIM: Weather Forecast and Pitch Report at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium– Zimbabwe Tour of Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI

Zimbabwe lock horns with Sri Lanka in the third and final ODI match of the series on Friday at Pallekele International Cricket Team. After losing the first game by 5 wickets, Zimbabwe made a brilliant comeback as they beat the hosts by 22 runs in the second ODI to level the series 1-1.

Zimbabwe, once again, batted first and put on a formidable score on the board. Chakabva made 47 off 50 and gave Zimbabwe a solid start in the powerplay.

Skipper, Craig Ervine, who got out early in the last game, played a brilliant 91-run knock of 98 deliveries, while Sean Williams carried on his great form with another valuable 48-run knock of 56 deliveries. Later, Sikandar Raza played a vital 46-ball 56 to guide Zimbabwe to a 302-run total in 50 overs.

For Sri Lanka, Vandersay was the pick of the bowlers as he claimed 3 for 51 in 9 overs, while N Pradeep took 2 for 74. In pursuit of that score, Sri Lanka didn’t make a great start with the bat. Both the openers, Pathum Nissanka (16 off 24) and Kusal Mendis (7 off 9) departed early in the innings. Kamindu Mendis, however, looked positive and played a valuable knock of 57 runs off 82 deliveries.

In-form batsmen, Dinesh Chandimal (2 off 6) and Charith Asalanka (23 off 21) couldn’t replicate the first game’s performance in the second ODI, thus leaving Sri Lanka in all sorts of trouble. Skipper Dasun Shanaka, however, took the team back into the game with a great display of counter-attacking.

He hit 7 fours and 4 sixes en-route to a fighting century. He, however, got out after scoring 102 off 94 balls and Zimbabwe took control of the game thereafter. Sri Lanka, as a result, fell 22 runs short of the target.

SL vs ZIM: Weather Forecast and Pitch Report at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium– Zimbabwe Tour of Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI

Pitch Report

The pitch at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium is a batting paradise. The batsmen love to bat at this surface. The last two games between Sri Lanka and Ireland in the series saw high-scoring contests between the two teams.

Zimbabwe managed to post scores of 296 and 302, while batting first in both games. The pitch isn’t conducive to spinners. Seamers got the majority of the wicket in the last two ODIs and are likely to pick more in the next game.

Weather Forecast:

The second ODI between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe should not be affected by rain, but cloudy skies can be expected throughout the match, with temperatures fluctuating between 28 and 30 degrees Celsius.