Can India complete a clean sweep and make it 3-0?
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| Source Image: Indian Express |
We are at the business end of the series as India eye yet another victory against the Lankans. As one would’ve predicted, the series thus far is dominated clearly by the Indians with both batsmen and bowlers contributing equally. Having sealed the series 2-0 already, India once again is clear favorites to win what’s dead-rubber of a contest. Srilanka, on the other hand, will play for nothing but pride. With the speedster Nuwan Pradeep sidelined following a hamstring injury, the bowling unit looks even more attenuated. However, the batting unit shall draw inspiration from their previous outing, after having offered some resistance while staring at a certain defeat.
Will the senior pro’s step-up?
Before the start of the series, much was expected from the likes of Dinesh Chandimal, Angello Mathews & Upul Tharanga. But, none of them has fired as one would like to. After being ruled out of galle’s encounter, chandimal looked completely out of sorts in Colombo, falling very cheaply in both the innings. Tharanga’s place in the side was questioned earlier, and now he has come under increasingly heavy criticism, as the left-handed opener has only managed to score a total of 76 runs in the four innings so far. Mathews though looked to play in a free-flowing way. It may have worked for him to an extent, but also led to his downfall. Being the senior most batsmen in the team, one would expect him to hold the innings together and lead the way for this young and inexperienced side rather than trying to score off every ball. Above all, Rangana Hearth’s lack of ability to pick wickets at crucial intervals is what hurting Srilanka badly. He’s presently ranked number three on ICC’s ranking for test bowlers and should certainly justify that if Srilanka is ever to put up a fight.
The X-factor
India will be one confident and relaxed unit heading into the match. With every single batsman amongst runs, they would absolutely love to go out there and add few more to their names. Of course, with Jadeja being suspended, the chinaman bowler may feature as the second spinner tomorrow. Regardless of Jadeja’s suspension, Virat Kholi and the team management would’ve definitely roped Kuldeep in. Not to forget his match turning spell against the Australians on his debut earlier this summer, helping the Indians to reaffirm their home dominance. It was his lion-hearted performance that triggered a middle order collapse swinging the momentum in favor of the home team. With a boatload of tricks in his bag, Kuldeep Yadav sure is the X-factor in team India. Srilankans are yet to face him in any format which makes things even more interesting.
So, the bottom-line is pretty simple, win the toss, bat first and score big.
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