Sri Lanka vs India: 3rd ODI Preview

An intelligent bowling performance by Sri Lanka, complimented by some attacking batting by their openers saw them register a thumping 9 wicket win over India in the 2nd ODI at Hambantota to square the series 1-1. The tourists, who suffered their second biggest defeat in terms of the number of balls remaining, were completely outplayed in all departments. The two teams now fly to Colombo to play the 3rd ODI at the R.Premadasa Stadium on Saturday, 28 July and will be eyeing what could prove to be a decisive 2-1 lead in this 5-match series.

Sri Lanka

The opening combo of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga struck half centuries and shared a quickfire 119 run partnership in the last game, giving an indication of the brutality with which they can hammer the Indian bowling attack. The middle order looks solid with the robust pair of Kumar Sangakkara and captain Mahela Jayawardene to follow at no.3 and 4 respectively. Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera, who made merry with the ball during the last game, are also potential hard strikers and can pile on runs at a brisk rate.

Skipper Jayawerdene would be upbeat about his bowlers and would be hoping his pacemen again rattle the Indian top order, as they did in the last game. Lasith Malinga can be very lethal on this ground and will look to get the opening breakthroughs. However, a dependable partner for Malinga who will share the new ball with him needs to be sorted out. Isuru Udana's expensive spell in seam-friendly conditions might land Nuwan Pradeep in the playing XI, who joins the squad as a replacement for the injured Kulasekara. Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews, who took 3 wickets each in the last match, will again look to dominate in overcast conditions and the Indian batsmen will find it tough to handle them. Rangana Herath has shown variety of late and will look to pressurize the batsmen from the other end to back the seamers.

India

After a submissive display of batting at Hambantota, the Indians will surely look to set things right. Gautam Gambhir found runs during the last game scoring 65 and can be really dangerous with his partner Virender Sehwag at the top, who will attack the Lankan pacemen from the word go. Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and skipper MS Dhoni, all of whom were dismissed cheaply in the last game, will try to make amends this time around and a fierce contests between the Indian batsmen and Lankan bowlers is anticipated. Rohit Sharma, who failed to score in the last game, has added worries for the visitors and needs to deliver at the earliest to retain his place.

The Indian bowling was no better than their batting in the last game with Ravi Ashwin the lone man to pick up a wicket. The offspinner gave away only 18 runs from his five overs and the Lankan batsmen have found it difficult to tackle him. Zaheer and Irfan are expected to open the bowling considering their ability to move the ball effectively early on. Umesh Yadav seems to have been targetted by Jayawardane and Co. with the speedster leaking runs in recent games. He conceded 38 runs from just fours and might make way for Ashok Dinda. India has a left arm tweaker in Pragyan Ojha who will have the responsibility to assist Ashwin in slowing down the flow of runs.

Form Guide:

Sri Lanka : (W L W)
24 July, 2012 - vs India : won by 9 wickets
21 July, 2012 - vs India : lost by 21 runs
18 June, 2012 - vs Pakistan : won by 2 wickets

India : (L W W)
24 July, 2012 - vs Sri Lanka : lost by 9 wickets
21 July, 2012 - vs Sri Lanka : won by 21 runs
18 March, 2012 - vs Pakistan : won by 6 wickets

Likely XIs:

Sri Lanka : T Dilshan, U Tharanga, K Sangakkara(wk), M Jayawerdene(c), D Chandimal, L Thirimane, A Mathews, T Perera, N Pradeep / I Udana, L Malinga, R Herath

India : V Sehwag, G Gambhir, V Kohli, R Sharma, S Raina, MS Dhoni(c/wk), I Pathan, R Ashwin, Z Khan, U Yadav / A Dinda, P Ojha

Players to watch:

Lasith Malinga : Can thrive on pitches with low bounce and the Colombo pitch offers him the best opportunity to subdue the Indian batsmen.

Virat Kohli : Virat will once again be the key man in the Indian top order. He has mastered the no.3 position and it won't take long before he repeats his heroics of the first ODI.

Pitch : The surface is known to be on the slower side and the ball stays quite low. With overcast conditions predicted the seamers are likely to have plenty to work with. The toss will be decisive as the chances of a full 50 over game look bleak due to heavy rains lashing the city of Colombo this entire week.

Prediction : A very tight call. If the rain stays away, India's batting can swing the game its way to make it 2-1.

Article Source : http://www.thesportscampus.com