On an overcast morning with damp surroundings, Indian skipper Virat Kohli opted to bat first and looked keen to continue the trend of the previous two games. When asked about the motive of his decision, Kohli was quick to say that batting first was always an advantage.
For India, there was a forced change, as all-rounder and Man of the Match in the previous game, Ravindra Jadeja was suspended for this game on account of accumulation of demerit points. Jadeja was replaced by the one Test old chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav. That remained the only change made by the Indians and rest of the team remained the same.
“We are gonna bat first,” said Kohli. “Looks similar to the second match. We just want to get most advantage of batting first. We expect resiliance at the Test level. It was actually a challenge. We had to work hard to win. I know, some happened incidentally. It’s been working well so far. Today Jadeja misses out due to suspension and Kuldeep comes in.”
With the series already in India’s favour, one can expect the visitors to continue playing their fearless brand of cricket. For someone like Shikhar Dhawan, who isn’t guaranteed a secure spot in the regular playing XI, this game signifies a great magnitude, as it could well define his career from here on.
A good performance here on a juicy track could keep the selectors inclined to retain him for the future games and the subsequent overseas tours to follow.
Apart from the batsmen, the bowlers, and especially the Pacers would look to assert their dominance over Sri Lanka. The likes of Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami wouldn’t find more pace bowling friendly conditions than this in Asia and would be keen on exploiting that. If they find their rhythm with the new ball, the Sri Lankan top order could well be in for some trouble.
Indian XI:
Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, R. Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav
Sri Lanka XI:
Upul Tharanga, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal(c), Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella(w), Dilruwan Perera, Malinda Pushpakumara, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara