5 things that went wrong for Sri Lanka in the third ODI

Inability to convert starts

Kusal Mendis has been abysmal throughout the tournament

Apart from Lahiru Thirimanne, nobody in Sri Lanka’s middle-order could convert their starts into a long innings. Former captain Angelo Mathews, who has underperformed throughout, looked good for a big score when he started his innings, but shortly fell on 11 runs. Stand-in captain Chamara Kapugedera fell on 14, while Milinda Siriwardana on 29. As for the lower-middle order, the bowlers have not been able to chip in even a combined 30 runs with the bat.

The openers don’t build a good start, the middle order batsmen fail to convert their good starts, and the lower order cannot bat. Sri Lanka’s miseries are plenty.