India, Sri Lanka to Test Each Other's Before Final

Dambulla: Having qualified for Thursday's final, both India and Sri Lanka will test each other's nerves and reserves in an inconsequential first round Asia Cup match at the Rangiri International Stadium here tomorrow.

While Kumar Sangakkara's Lanka have a fit and fighting side, India have been plagued by injuries to key players.

With Virender Sehwag nursing a pulled hamstring, the team management has flown in Dinesh Karthik but Jharkhand batsman Saurabh Tiwary will fancy his chances of making his ODI debut tomorrow.

In the bowling department, Ashish Nehra is said to have recovered from back spasms which had hampered his movement in the field against Pakistan but it is unlikely the left-arm seamer will play tomorrow.

In his absence, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has the option of playing medium pacer Ashok Dinda, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha or Ravichandran Ashwin, whose off-spin bowling could be handy on this surface.

Interestingly, all the off¿break bowlers have done reasonably well here.

Among the batsmen, Gautam Gambhir has been India's man in form with successive scores of 82 and 83. Dhoni himself is hitting the ball well, as is Suresh Raina, who contributed a significant 34 in the win against Pakistan.

But the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are yet to prove their prowess in the tournament.

Though nothing will be at stake tomorrow, star spinner Harbhajan Singh said the team would be serious in their approach.

"This is an important game for us. We don't take any game lightly. Obviously, if we win the match, we can go to the final with a better frame of mind," said Harbhajan.

Sri Lanka have had a fantastic run in the tournament, defeating Pakistan by 16 runs and crushing Bangladesh by a huge margin of 126 runs.

Their batsmen have been in great nick and opener Tillakaratne Dilshan has been in roaring form. Sangakkara himself, along with Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews, looks in touch while Upul Tharanga and Chamara Kapugedara have also been among the runs.

Their bowling unit is arguably better than India with Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara and left-arm fast bowler Chanaka Welegedara having already made their mark in the tournament.


Team news

Sri Lanka choose to try out their bench strength, they may consider resting Lasith Malinga and play allrounder Farveez Maharoof. Another possible change is the inclusion of Suraj Randiv for Muttiah Muralitharan, who may be given a break ahead of the final.

Squad from Kumar Sangakkara (C & WK), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilina Kandamby, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chanaka Welegedara, Muttiah Muralitharan (VC), Rangana Herath, Suraj Randiv, Chamara Kapugedera, Farveez Maharoof, Angelo Mathews, Upul Tharanga

India Dinesh Karthik is Sehwag's replacement for the remainder of the tournament and is likely to open on Tuesday with Gautam Gambhir. India may be tempted to rest one of their seamers, possibly Ashish Nehra who has just recovered from back spasms.

Squad from MS Dhoni (C & WK), Gautam Gambhir (VC), Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Saurabh Tiwary, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Ashok Dinda, Ravichandran Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik (WK).

Stats and trivia

• India and Sri Lanka are meeting for the 18th time since the start of 2009 in an ODI.
• The game is the 2999th ODI. The 3000th will be held on the same day, between England and Australia. Incidentally the same two teams played the very first ODI in 1971.

Match facts
Tuesday, June 21, 2010
Start time 14:30 local (09:00 GMT)