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[Saba Sports News] India and Sri Lanka faced off in the third ODI at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday, August 7. Rishabh Pant and Riyan Parag replaced KL Rahul and Arshdeep Singh in this must-win game for India, trailing 0-1 in the three-match series.
In the penultimate over of the first innings, Pant made an uncharacteristic error behind the stumps, giving Maheesh Theekshana a reprieve. Off the last ball of the 49th over bowled by Kuldeep Yadav, Theekshana stepped out for a wild swing but missed. Pant collected the ball cleanly but took too long to dislodge the bails, allowing Theekshana to get back to the crease. Even though Theekshana initially walked off thinking he was stumped, the third umpire confirmed he was safe as he had grounded his bat just in time.
Sri Lanka started strong after opting to bat first. Pathum Nissanka and Avishka Fernando added 89 runs off 119 balls before Nissanka departed for 45. Avishka continued aggressively, scoring 96 off 102 balls, with an 82-run partnership with Kusal Mendis putting Sri Lanka at 171/1 in the 36th over. However, India bounced back, taking five wickets for just 28 runs.
Kusal Mendis and Kamindu Mendis batted well in the death overs, helping Sri Lanka reach a competitive total of 248/7. Riyan Parag stood out on his ODI debut, finishing with figures of 3/54 in nine overs.