india vs sri lanka 3rd odi match preview colombo shikhar dhawan dasun shanaka r premdasa stadium ‘Gabbar ki sena’ to clean sweep of Sri Lanka amid team selection concerns

Colombo: In the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka, first Indian coach Rahul Dravid will face a dilemma whether to experiment in the last match or retain the winning combination for a ‘clean sweep’. Under the captaincy of Shikhar Dhawan, India won the first match by seven wickets while Deepak Chahar played an unbeaten innings of 69 runs in the three-wicket win in the second match.

Now it remains to be seen whether India picks up Prithvi Shaw along with Shikhar Dhawan or gives Devdutt Padikkal or Ruturaj Gaikwad a chance to open the innings. Shaw scored 43 and 13 runs in the first two matches. If Shaw gets a chance again, his effort will be to convert a good start into a big innings.

Another dilemma before the team management would be whether to field aggressive Ishan Kishan or give Sanju Samson a chance to make his ODI debut. Manish Pandey and Suryakumar Yadav will retain their places in the middle order. Since there is no issue regarding Hardik Pandya’s fitness, vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar has said that the Baroda player and his brother Krunal Pandya are expected to play.

The team management also has to take care of the players’ workload as Sri Lanka has six matches to play in 12 days in humid weather. In the last two matches, the Indian bowlers had managed to control Sri Lanka’s inexperienced batting order. Bhuvneshwar Kumar will lead the attack while Navdeep Saini or Chetan Sakariya can be brought in in place of Deepak Chahar to support him. Although Chahar has proved that he is also a useful batsman, his role in T20 will be crucial. So they can be rested.

Spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal did well in the first two matches. There is a selection dilemma here too, with off-spinner Krishnappa Gautam and the talented Rahul Chahar waiting to be played. The Sri Lankan team had come close to victory in the second match, which would have boosted their confidence considerably. Opener Avishka Fernando, however, needs help from the other end. Sri Lankan coach Mickey Arthur, who was seen in anger in the last match, will have to encourage his players.

The teams are as follows:
India: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Krishnappa Gautam, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakraborty, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Chetan Sakaria, Navdeep Saini.

Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (captain), Dhananjaya de Silva (vice-captain), Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapakse, Pathum Nisanka, Charit Aslanka, Vanindu Hasaranga, Ashen Bandara, Minod Bhanuka, Lahiru Udara, Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Lakshmantha Chamira, Lakshmantha Chamira Akila Dhananjay, Shiran Fernando, Dhananjay Lakshna, Ishaan Jayaratne, Praveen Jayavikrema, Asitha Fernando, Kasun Rajita, Lahiru Kumara, Isuru Udana.

The match will start at 3 pm Indian time.