In the third and final T20I match held at Dambulla on Wednesday, Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat. With Sri Lanka already securing the series victory after winning the first two games, they now aim for a clean sweep across all formats, having triumphed in the preceding ODIs and the one-off Test.

Both teams have opted for changes, with four additions each to their lineups. Afghanistan has brought in wicketkeeper Mohammad Ishaq, all-rounder Sharafuddin Ashraf, and seamers Fareed Ahmad and Wafadar Momand. On the other hand, Sri Lanka has introduced all-rounder Kamindu Mendis, top-order batter Kusal Perera, off-spinner Akila Dananjaya, and Nuwan Thushara as the second slinger in the XI.

Assessing the pitch and conditions, there is a breeze sweeping across the stadium, with no signs of rain anticipated. The playing surface remains the same as the previous two encounters. Speaking on the pitch conditions, Tino Mawoyo mentioned in the pitch report, "The pitch is a little patchy... The one thing that's there for sure is the dryness under the surface. Other than that there is still a little bit of hardness. I expect in these patchy areas where it's a bit drier and there's a bit of grass, we might get a bit of turn, which we haven't seen a lot of."

He further added, "The batting conditions have been pretty good, so the seamers have taken the pace off the ball to counteract it. But what's key is the length that you bowl when you take that pace off. If they drop it short they've been dispatched. So something for the bowlers to think about. But it's still a bat-first surface."

Playing XIs:
Sri Lanka:

Pathum Nissanka
Kusal Mendis (wk)
Kusal Perera
Sadeera Samarawickrama
Kamindu Mendis
Angelo Mathews
Dasun Shanaka
Wanindu Hasaranga (capt)
Akila Dananjaya
Nuwan Thushara
Matheesha Pathirana
Afghanistan:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk)
Hazratullah Zazai
Ibrahim Zadran (capt)
Mohammad Ishaq
Azmatullah Omarzai
Mohammad Nabi
Karim Janat
Sharafuddin Ashraf
Noor Ahmad
Fareed Ahmad
Wafadar Momand

With both teams aiming to put on a strong performance in the final match of the series, fans are in for an exciting contest as Afghanistan bats first, looking to set a challenging target for Sri Lanka to chase.