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[Saba Sports News] India pacer Mohammed Siraj lost his cool during a heated verbal exchange with Kusal Mendis in the third ODI in Colombo.
The incident occurred on the third ball of the 39th over after Mendis defended Siraj’s delivery. Siraj charged towards Mendis, who responded in kind, but Siraj turned his back and walked away.
Siraj had a rough outing, conceding 78 runs in his nine overs. With Arshdeep Singh benched, Siraj partnered with Shivam Dube to lead the pace attack but struggled. In contrast, Dube gave away only nine runs in his four overs. Sri Lanka posted a total of 248 runs in the first innings.
India, trailing 1-0 in the series, must win this third ODI. Sri Lanka’s openers Pathum Nissanka and Avishka Fernando scored 45 and 96 runs, respectively, while Mendis contributed 59. Despite a strong start, Sri Lanka’s middle order faltered, preventing them from surpassing the 250-run mark.
India faces a challenging chase. While Rohit Sharma has been in good form, others have underperformed. India added Riyan Parag as an extra batter and replaced KL Rahul with Rishabh Pant, a proficient player of spin. Key contributions will be needed from Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, who have not made significant impacts in the series so far.