After the embarrassing loss in the first ODI at Dharamshala, India’s stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma had termed it as an eye-opener game for the side. They were left high and dry when the scorecard read 29 for 7. MS Dhoni’s rescue innings helped them go past 100 but that was not enough as the visitors won the game without much of a trouble.

Sri Lanka tour of India, 2017

Well, the loss at Dharamshala did open the eyes of Indian batsmen as they went on to pile the runs in the second ODI at the PCA stadium in Mohali. It was devastating innings of Rohit Sharma which helped India post a humongous total of 392 and Sri Lanka fell apart in the run chase handling India an easy win in the end.

Decider at the Vizag

The teams now fight out for the trophy at Vizag. One would wonder if the Sri Lankan bowlers would have managed to get rid of the spankings Indian skipper Sharma gave to the Lankan bowlers in Mohali. Well, their bowlers will have to reunite for the final time in the ODI series and try to emulate their 1st ODI performance if they have to stand any chance of winning the series.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan openers Gunathilaka and Tharanga will have to provide a decent enough start which they have failed to do so in the first two games. Tharanga If wish to score big in the all-important decider, he will have to rotate strike regularly instead of depending upon the boundaries. Thirimanne got out playing a horrible shot off debutant Washington in the 2nd game while he scored a duck in the 1st which might cost him his place. Dhananjaya De Silva might replace the left-handed Thirimanne for the final game If he recovers before the game on Sunday. Mathews century came in the lost cause but the experienced all-rounder will benefit with the form he has not and would love to start from the same note as the second game. Dickwella will have to score big instead of those short cameos after which he throws his wicket away.

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Lankan bowlers received some tremendous bashing from Rohit Sharma in the final 10 overs where the right-handed Sharma went berserk during his 3rd double hundred of his career. Pacer Nuwan Pradeep and 1st game’s best performer Lakmal were thrashed every part of the ground by Sharma in the 2nd game. If Sri Lanka wishes to stand any chance in the game, the bowlers will have to come up with some plans for the might Indian batting unit.

India

Indian batters failed in the first ODI but came all gun blazing in the second game where they blown the Lankans with them. Sharma and Dhawan at the top were fluent as usual after their failure in the 1st game. Following them is Shreyas Iyer who scored his 1st half-century of his career in the 2nd game but it never looked If Iyer was playing just the 2nd game of his career. The middle order can get tested if the openers fail in the last game of the series. Indians would hope for some blitz from Hardik Pandya who hasn’t managed to get a chance to settle himself before he smokes the big sixes. Dhoni once showed his importance in the first game when he bailed out the side from a miserable situation and the team will hope the experienced wicketkeeper keeps the same form if needed.

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Indian bowlers came well in the 2nd game with Yuzvendra Chahal picking up 3 wickets in the game while the quicks were impressive as they didn’t give away runs easily. Good performance from Pandya with the ball in the second game must have given him great confidence which the all-rounder would love to emulate in the final game. Debutant Sundar went for few runs when Sri Lankan wicket keeper Dickwella put him under pressure with few unorthodox shots but the management might well give him another go in the final game.

The final assessment

The way Indian batting unit stuck together in the second game, one would feel we might get to see another run feast the Vizag. Openers Dhawan and Sharma along with Iyer didn’t let people miss the regular skipper Virat Kohli. If Sri Lanka wishes to win the series, their bowling unit will have to come good or else it can well be the one-sided decider.

Probable XI Sri Lanka

Danushka Gunathilaka, Upul Tharanga, Dhananjaya de Silva/Kusal P, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Asela Gunaratne, Thisara Perera (c), Sachith Pathirana, Akila Dananjaya, Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep.

Probable XI India

Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma (c), Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar,Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Tags: 1999 Cricket World Cup, 3rd ODI, India, Sri Lanka, Visakhapatnam, Vizag