Sri Lanka face must win game to keep series alive

Kandy: Having already secured a 2-0 lead, India will look to seal the series against Sri Lanka in the third of five-match One-Day International (ODI) series at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium here on Sunday.

India have taken 2-0 lead in the ODI series after pulling out a three-wicket victory from the jaws of defeat in the last match.

The visitors had suffered a batting collapse, losing seven wickets in the space of 22 runs to be reduced to 131/7 at one stage thanks to excellent bowling by Sri Lanka off-spinner Akila Dananjaya, who returned a six-wicket haul.

But former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (45 not out) and tailender Bhuvneshwar Kumar (53 not out) put together 100-run partnership to help the visitors chase down the target.

Openers Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan had put India off to a fine start with a stand of 109 runs and the visitors will bank them and Dhoni to continue their fine form.

The Indians will also hope that batsmen Lokesh Rahul, Kedar Jadhav and skipper Virat Kohli will get back to form after all three failed to reach double figures in the last match.

In the bowling department, pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, alongside spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel, will look to put breaks on the Sri Lankan batting which has failed to pose a threat in the previous matches.

Match facts
Sunday August 27, 2017 (d/n)
Start time 1430 local (0900 GMT)

Sri Lanka will hope batsmen Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne, who have been called up for the remaining ODIs as a replacement for Danushka Gunathilaka and captain Upul Tharanga bring some positives into the side.

Stand-in captain Chamara Kapugedera along with batsmen Niroshan Dickwella and Milinda Siriwardana will look to play a key role in the batting department.

Among the bowlers, Dananjaya will look to continue his fine form.

Teams from

Sri Lanka: Chamara Kapugedera (captain), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Milinda Siriwardana, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando, Akila Dananjaya, Kusal Mendis BenchThisara Perera, Malinda Pushpakumara, Wanidu Hasaranga and Lakshan Sandakan.

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Kedar Jadhav, Lokesh Rahul, MS Dhoni (wk), Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Kuldeep Yadav and Shardul Thakur.

Pitch and conditions
After Dananjaya's success, Sri Lanka will be tempted to have a spin-friendly track prepared in Pallekele. There is a chance showers will interrupt play.

Stats and trivia

• MS Dhoni is just one stumping away from becoming the first ODI wicketkeeper with 100 stumpings.
• India maintain a 100 per cent record in Pallekele (all coming against Sri Lanka). On the other hand, Sri Lanka have 9 victories out of 17 games played at this venue.
• Virat Kohli is 41 runs away from becoming the leading run-scorer (ODIs) in 2017. The list is headed by Faf du Plessis (814), followed by Joe Root (785).
• Angelo Mathews is 9 short of slamming 1,000 runs against India in ODIs.
• Chamara Kapugedra is set to become the 4th Sri Lankan captain in ODIs since 2016 after Mathews, Upul Tharanga and Dinesh Chandimal.