Colombo: India aim for 9 ODI wins on the trot which will give them an Indian record in ODIs, as they take on a demoralised Sri Lankan outfit tomorrow at the Premadasa in Colombo.
With the series already win, India are looking to experiment. That could be good news for Irfan Pathan and Rohit Sharma. With a packed schedule ahead, at least one of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma is likely to be rested.
Sachin got out for the third match in a row to a poor decision and he must be looking to turn the corner on Thursday. Pragyan Ojha was quite a revelation the other day as he bowled quite beautifully to claim his career best figures.
India are likely to rest Sehwag, Yuvraj and Zaheer with a view to give the bench strength a chance to press their claims. Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Lakshmipathy Balaji are expected to take their places respectively.
Sri Lanka could make one or two changes with medium fast bowler Angelo Mathews coming in for either Dilhara Fernando or Farveez Maharoof and Jehan Mubarak taking Chamara Kapugedera's place.
Although the visitors would ideally like to make a clean sweep of the series, giving an opportunity to the bench players will be their priority in the remaining two matches.
India | Sri Lanka | |
Coach | Gary Kirsten | Trevor Bayliss |
ICC Ranking | 3 | 7 |
Key Players | Gambhir, Yuvraj, Jadeja | Murali, Jayasuriya, Mahela |
Trivia & Stats | One number of wins needed by Dhoni to achieve an Indian record of 9 ODI wins on the trot. | One wicket needed by Muralitharan to become the highest wicket taker in ODIs |
Weather | Sunny skies with a light wind is being predicted for tomorrow. High: 31oC. Wind West 10 km/h . Heat Index: 30oC | |
Pitch | The last match at the Premadasa produced a belter of a wicket so dont be too surprised if there is another batting beauty being served up again. | |
Current Form | WWWWW | WWLLL (Recent last) |
Head to head | Total 109, India 58, Sri Lanka 41, Tied 10 |