India vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI: India look to carry momentum into fortress Visakhapatnam

Rohit Sharma will lead India in the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Visakhapatnam. (Source: AP)

India will eye yet another series win when they face off against Sri Lanka in the series decider at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. The hosts could not have asked for a better venue to extend their unbeaten streak in bi-lateral ODI series. India haven’t lost a home ODI series since going down to South Africa while Sri Lanka have never beaten India away. To make things murkier for them, India have played six games in Visakhapatnam and won all but one of them.

If that record isn’t enough to bolster India’s confidence, the fact that they come into the contest on the back of a hammering to Sri Lanka surely will. Rohit Sharma scored a third double century in the second ODI, in Mohali, to put a stamp of authority that was required after the abject showing in the first match in Dharamsala. The stand-in skipper for Virat Kohli, Rohit took it upon himself to restore confidence from the onset and took India to a massive 392/4 before leading the side to a 141 run victory.

The defeat in the first ODI in Dharamsala meant India will not be able to edge South Africa at the top in the ODI rankings. The Rohit-captained side needed to ensure a whitewash to harbour hopes of going to the top of the rankings but they were dashed in a poor show under tricky conditions that allowed seam friendly conditions.

After the dismal show in Dharamsala, the batsmen came back to prove themselves in Mohali. Aside from Rohit, his opening ally Shikhar Dhawan notched a fifty and young Shreyas Iyer announced himself on the big stage with an 88 run knock to suggest the hosts are all set in the batting department.

At the other end, bowlers are expected to toil and work in the porty city if the records are any indication. On a batsmen friendly wicket, India bowlers, who have looked promising so far, are expected to do the job once again. This makes the first 10 overs extremely critical – something India’s seamers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah would be well aware of. As would be Sri Lanka’s Suranga Lakmal who has caused plenty of problems for India in the series.

Return of an experienced Angelo Mathews will extend Sri Lanka’s confidence in a series decider. Even though his ton in Mohali went in a losing cause, a return to aid a young batting unit would be much needed in the islander’s quest for a series win in India.

Teams:

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, M S Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Axar Patel, Siddarth Kaul.

Sri Lanka: Thisara Perera (captain), Upul Tharanga, Danusha Gunathilaka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Asela Gunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Niroshan Dickwella (WK), Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Matthews, Sachith Pathirana, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Akila Dhanajaya, Chathuranga de Silva, Dushmantha Chameera, Kusal Perera.