Sri Lanka vs Australia 3rd ODI: Pathum Nissanka's ton helps Sri Lanka clinch a 2-1 lead

Their strong batting line-up made sure that they could comfortably chase the challenging total of 292 runs set by their adversary. Man of the match, Pathum Nissanka (137), was the highest-scoring batsman from the winning side.

Jeffery Vandersay's three-wicket haul restricted visitors to 291

The Australians managed to put up a substantial total of 291 runs owing to the performance of their batters while batting first. David Warner (9) and Mitchell Marsh (10) lost their early wickets to Dushmantha Chameera and Dunith Wellalage. While they lost their first wicket very early on, they recovered from this and had excellent partnerships for the 2nd and 3rd wickets. Skipper Aaron Finch built a 69-run partnership with Marnus Labuschagne. Jeffrey Vandersay trapped Marnus Labuschagne (29) as he got stumped and then, in his next over, dismissed the skipper for 62. Alex Carey and Travis Head stitched a 72-run partnership to accelerate the inning. While Alex Carey missed on his half-century by one run, losing his wicket in an LBW to Dhananjaya de Silva, Glenn Maxwell played a cameo to score 33 of 18 at a whopping strike rate of 183.33. Travis Head scored an unbeaten 70 to post a total of 291/6 at the end of 50 overs.

Jeffrey Vandersay was the best-performing Sri Lankan bowler who secured three wickets. Also, he was pretty economical as he gave just 4.9 runs per over to the Australians. Three of his teammates took one wicket each. They were Dushmantha Chameera, Dunith Wellalage and Dhananjaya de Silva. Overall, we can say that Aussie's decision of choosing to bat first wasn't a bad one.

Pathum Nissanka- Kusal Mendis's 170-run stand steered hosts to win.

The Sri Lankan innings suffered the first loss of wicket after openers putting together 42 runs as Glenn Maxwell bowled out Niroshan Dickwella. But then their top-order batters, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis built an excellent 170-run partnership, with Pathum Nissanka scoring 137 runs while hitting 11 fours and two sixes. Kusal Mendis, too, contributed vital 87 runs before getting out retired-hurt. Had it not been for them, the Australian team could have won the match. With most of the job done by Nissanka and Kusal Mendis, the little left was done by Dhananjaya de Silva's 25 and an unbeaten 13 from Charith Asalanka to chase down the total with six wickets and nine balls remaining. 

Sri Lanka's Captain Dasun Shanaka said, "I knew that it was a record chasing this down. It was an excellent performance by the two youngsters with the bat, Pathum and Kusal Mendis. I hope they will take the momentum into the next match as well. In the dressing room we were talking about the tempo and awareness, and they delivered. I think there was a little bit of dew, and it made a difference when we were batting. The ball was coming nicely on to the bat. We didn't expect that at the toss, so batting second made a huge difference to the game." 

While the Australians managed to set up a challenging total for the hosts to chase, their bowlers couldn't take wickets at regular intervals, hence their defeat. All is not lost for the Australians, though, as they still can make a comeback in the series in the upcoming matches. If Australia improves their bowling attack, it is undoubtedly possible for them to win the upcoming matches and the series. Sri Lanka is one win away from sealing the series win, whereas Australia must win both the remaining games. The team will be seen clashing next on 21st June 2022 at Colombo.