Ind vs SL 3rd Test - India Eye Top Rank with 2-0, Lanka For First win

Mumbai: A chance to go a top the world rankings at stake, India take on a struggling Sri Lanka in the third and final Test here Wednesday hoping to wrap up the series 2-0.

As Test cricket returns to the Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium after more than three and a half decades, the hosts are clear favourites to wrap up the rubber with another victory following the landmark 100th win at Kanpur inside four days.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men appear to carry too big an arsenal, especially in batting, for the comfort of Kumar Sangakkara's visiting team which needs to buckle up and leave behind the morale-shattering innings defeat in Kanpur.

Dhoni has been lucky with the toss in the first two Tests, though his team faced down the barrel at 32 for four on the first morning of the series at Ahmedabad before being rescued by the tenacity of Rahul Dravid and the grit of Yuvraj Singh.

Sehwag and Vijay had forged good partnerships of 98 and 116 in their previous association for India as openers at Nagpur just over an year ago in the fourth Test against Australia.

Vijay stepped in for Gambhir, who was serving a one-Test ban on disciplinary grounds after elbowing all rounder Shane Watson, at the previous Delhi Test. He made 33 and 41.

Vijay got his chance to make his Test debut after being rushed into the highest form of the game straight from the Ranji Trophy tie in Nashik against Maharashtra on the strength of associating with a plus-400 stand with Abhinav Mukund.

Sri Lanka's Chanaka Welegedara, who can bowl good in-swingers would fancy his chances against Vijay. The Lankans will once again miss Dammika Prasad, who has not yet recovered from a hamstring injury picked during the opening Test.

Team news

India: Murali Vijay is certain to take Gambhir's place in what should be the only change to the India XI that won in Kanpur. Sreesanth did have a minor injury scare, but is likely to play.

Squad (likely): MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag, M Vijay, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha.

Sri Lanka: Nuwan Kulasekara is fully fit and is likely to reinforce an attack that looked listless in Kanpur. He should take Ajantha Mendis' place in the final XI.

Squad (likely): Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk), Tharanga Paranavitana, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), Nuwan Kulasekara, Chanaka Welegedara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Rangana Herath.

Pitch and conditions
Normally a pitch hosting a Test for the first time in 36 years would be a big unknown, but this one seems to have come as a pleasant change for both captains. Both expect nice bounce, help for fast bowlers in the earlier stages, and spin in the latter. The first session will be crucial and that is when the seamers will get a bit of help.

Stats and Trivia

• Eleven out of 17 Tests at the Brabourne have been drawn, but four out of the last six have yielded results.
• catch Jayawardene on Murali is one short of 100 dismissals in all international cricket, by far a record for a bowler-fielder combination.
• Leading into his Test comeback, Sreesanth had bowled 112 overs for eight first-class wickets at 45.75. In his first innings back in Test cricket, he took 22 overs to finish a match-winning five-for.
• Rahul Dravid is only 218 runs behind Ricky Ponting, but has scored 28 centuries as opposed to Ponting's 38. Mahela Jayawardene has scored only one century fewer than Dravid, but has done it over 9079 runs, as opposed to Dravid's 11,182.

Match facts
Wednesday December 02 to Sunday 06, 2009
Start time 9:30 local time (04:00 GMT), 09:30 SLT