Daijiworld Media Network
Hyderabad, Nov 9 : After another shambolic defeat, Sri Lankan skipper, Angelo Mathews said he was 'embarrassed' that his team was not competitive enough. Along with Dhammika, Mathews rescued Sri Lanka to 274 in Motera. However, Rayudu and Dhawan made light work of the target, helping India stroll to a 2-0 lead.
Rayudu's brilliant maiden century has strengthened his case for a permanent World Cup berth. Young Axar Patel continues to impress with his tight darters. Jadeja and Ashwin though lacked rhythm in the second ODI. It will be interesting to see if Kohli sticks to the three-pronged spin attack or gives Binny a go. The hosts will look to extend their winning form and wrap up the series.
Sri Lanka have won the toss and have opted to bat
Mathews: 'We will have a bat first. The wicket looks good. It is overcast, the ball might do a little bit in the first 10 overs. We want to put runs on the board. Suraj Randiv and Dhammika are out. We have Chaturanga de Silva and Kulasekara coming in.
Kohli: 'It looks like a nice, hard wicket. We would have liked to bat first as well. The dew will not come in early. They(Sri Lanka) have tested us in a few situations. We have a young team as well. They are quite smart with how they go about their business. We have been a notch above them. We have one change. Dhawal Kulkarni comes in for Ravindra Jadeja.
Teams:
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Kushal Janith Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara(w), Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews(c), Seekkuge Prasanna, Ashan Priyanjan, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lahiru Gamage, Chaturanga de Silva
India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Virat Kohli(c), Suresh Raina, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Akshar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni
'Conditions are little overcast' says Ian Bishop.
Pitch report: 'There was some life in the pitch at Cuttack, but not so much at Ahmedabad. This pitch looks hard. There is hardly any grass on it. The ball should come onto the bat. The ball will not deviate off the seam. Plenty of runs will be scored' reckon Michael Holding and Sunil Gavaskar.
Meanwhile, Sanga has been rested for the last two ODIs while Thiri, Chandimal, Mendis and Eranga have been roped in.
Let us find out. Welcome to the third ODI between India and Sri Lanka. Toss, teams and all the action to follow shortly.
On the other hand, Mathews' men have plenty of questions unanswered. Sanga and Mahela have displayed flashes of brilliance, but are yet to impose themselves on India. The less said about Sri Lanka's bowling, the better. Can they pick themselves up and stay alive in the series?
'It's about being ruthless and winning every game' said Kohli prior to this clash
Match preview :
Both teams travel down South to Hyderabad, to play the third game of the 5-match ODI series. India don't have a great record at Hyderabad, having lost three of the four ODIs they have played at this ground. India's only victory came against England in 2011. It is an ideal chance for Sri Lanka, who are looking out of sorts, to bounce back in the series. However, India have been playing some exceptional cricket of late and fittingly they also regained the No. 1 spot in the ODI rankings.
India
Although missing the services of regular members, MS Dhoni and Bhvuneshwar Kumar, stand-in captain Virat Kohli has managed to piece together a more-than-competitive side. India's top-order continues to impress, with the latest being Ambati Rayudu, who played a scintillating knock to register his maiden ODI hundred in the previous game after being promoted up the order to No. 3. The team management will be delighted to see Shikhar Dhawan, who was blowing hot and cold previously, getting some quality runs, while Ajinkya Rahane too has been amongst the runs. Skipper Kohli seems to be back at his usual best and is middling the ball very well. Suresh Raina's aggression has come in handy for India of late lower down the order and overall, the batting line-up looks quite settled.
Before the start of the series, captain Kohli mentioned that the series gives his side an opportunity to try out of a few combinations and the Indian think-tank has been experimenting with the batting-order in the last few games. Asked if he would continue to play himself at No. 4 and Rayudu at No. 3, a smiling Kohli said that the plans cannot be revealed. Akshar Patel's success with the ball has come at the right time for the hosts, who are yet to find out their best match for the WC 2015. Umesh Yadav has made a good return, bowling well and more importantly, troubling the batsmen with his pace. It was surprising to see Kohli naming a spinner in place of injured pacer Varun Aaron as Dhoni had mentioned about his plans to unearth the third seamer, who would play regularly Down Under.
Sri Lanka
Nothing is going right for Angelo Mathews & Co.. The Sri Lankan skipper was so frustrated with the team's performance in the last two ODIs that he went on to say that it was embarrassing to see the way his side went down to India. Their problem starts right at the top. Openers Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan haven't been able to give good starts to the side and the team management decided to replace Tharanga with Kusal Perera, who is almost a CTRL C, CTRL V of Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya, in the previous ODI. The biggest plus for the visitors though is the presence of seasoned campaigners Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene and the in-form captain Mathews, who has had a great 2014.
The absence of Lasith Malinga and Rangana Herath is hurting Sri Lanka badly. Rookie Lahiru Gamage has been the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers, though having played just two games so far. He has not only managed to beat the bat on a number of occasions, but also has been able to strangle the batsmen with tight lines. Had luck been on his side, he would have had more wickets. It is high time that all-rounder Thisara Perera proves his reputation right and takes responsibility, having had a nightmare of a series so far. The inexperienced spin attack is also struggling to come to terms against India's devastating batting line-up, thereby forcing the captain to employ as many as eight bowlers in the last two matches.
Stats:
* Shikhar Dhawan needs 45 more runs to reach 2000 runs in ODI cricket.
* Virat Kohli needs 50 runs to become the fastest overall, to score 6000 runs in the 50-over format.
* Kumar Sangakkara will become the fastest Sri Lankan to score 13000 ODI runs, if he manages to score 82 runs.
* Mahela Jayawardene needs 116 runs to record 12000 runs in ODIs.
* A victory for India will see them seal their 8th bilateral ODI series at home against Sri Lanka.
Quotes:
'It's just about giving the guys the belief that they can do well. We are just focusing to keep the guys happy and it's working well for us,' Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
'I think we're slowly getting better, but I'm disappointed and embarrassed by the fact that we were not competitive enough against the Indians,' Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews.