KL Rahul has been dropped from the third and final ODI, and Rishabh Pant has replaced him. The third ODI started with Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka winning the third consecutive toss in the series.
Once again, Sri Lanka decided to bat first. The hosts got off to a brilliant start that one could have asked for. They had an 89-run opening stand, then they had an 82-run stand for the second wicket. Sri Lanka were at 171/1 at one spot.
But the Indian bowlers bounced back pretty well and restricted the hosts to 248/7 in the first innings. Avishka Fernando missed out on a well-deserved century by just four runs and got out for 96 runs. Debutant Riyan Parag took 3/54 and became the 7th Indian bowler to take a three-wicket haul in his debut.
IND vs SL: India dropped KL Rahul from third and final ODI
India stuck with the same team in the first two games, but they made two changes to the playing XI. Arshdeep Singh was replaced by Riyan Parag, but KL Rahul was dropped as India picked Rishabh Pant in his place. Rahul hasn’t been in his good form, as he failed in the first two matches. KL Rahul scored 31 runs in two innings.
India failed to get runs from the middle order in both matches. The 32-year-old was in excellent form during the ODI World Cup 2023 and was one of the top scorers in the tournament. Rahul, who secured a place during Pant’s absence after donning the gloves, needs to grab opportunity whatever he gets.
India are preparing for the coming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, and India don’t have many ODIs to play ahead of the ICC title. Pant is the first-choice keeper in T20Is and Tests, but India stuck with KL Rahul in ODIs. So there will be tough competition between Rahul and Pant in ODIs.
Hence, it is too early to say who is India’s first-choice keeper. But one thing is sure: KL Rahul needs to do well whenever he gets a chance. Already, the competition in the Indian middle order is very tough, and there are already so many players coming up the ranks.
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