Team India has been utterly ruthless against Sri Lanka in the ongoing series and is leading the 5 match ODI series by a 2-0 margin. After romping home in the first ODI courtesy a brilliant century by Shikhar Dhawan and a well composed 83 by Virat Kohli, the visitors were jolted in the 2nd ODI as mystery spinner Akila Dananjaya ran through the Indian middle order which left them to slide down to 131/7 from 109/0.
From there on it was a sensational partnership between man for crisis Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Both played some steady cricket which ensured the visitors were back on track. The duo shared an unbeaten 100 runs partnership which ensured India chased down the target without any further hiccups. Akila Dananjaya was simply terrific as he finished with exceptional figures of 6/54 in his allotted 10 overs.
Meanwhile, the hosts will look to salvage some of their lost pride once they take the field for the 3rd ODI at Pallekele. They have been thoroughly outplayed by the Men in Blue in all three departments of the game and unless something dramatic happens we might be in for a 5-0 whitewash. Meanwhile, the hosts have also been pegged back by injury issues with their regular captain Upul Tharanga ruled out of the next two ODI’s due to slow rate during his side’s defeat in the 2nd encounter.
Chamara Kapugedera who has been named the captain in Tharanga’s injury also suffered a niggle during a practice session today but is expected to be fit for tomorrow’s match. Akila Dananjaya will look to impress even in the next ODI while the bowlers who haven’t performed have to put up their hands forward and come out with a match winning spells.
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India
The Men in Blue have played some exceptional brand of cricket over the past few months irrespective of formats and the Lankans have been no match for the No.1 Test team in the world. Their batting line-up looks pretty settled and after Dhoni’s match-winning hand in the 2nd ODI, the middle order looks pretty solid.
The visitors would like to think that the terrible collapse in the 2nd ODI was more of an aberration and would look to set their eyes for more convincing performances in the remaining 3 matches. In the bowling department, come back man Axar Patel has performed well while Yuzvendra Chahal has also bagged a couple of wickets each in the first two matches. Young sensation Jaspirt Bumrah was the pick of bowlers for India during the 2nd clash finishing with a 4 wicket haul.
Sri Lanka
Words are not enough to describe the slump, the team is going through. Never in their history, had Sri Lanka suffered embarrassing defeats one after the other like they are suffering now and there doesn’t seem to be any solution to this problem. Even the experienced guys are not ready to put in that extra yard which resulted in their embarrassing series loss at the hands of minnows Zimbabwe in their own den.
The batting department has looked fragile while the bowlers have leaked runs despite looking impressive. Akila Dananjaya who spun the web around the Indian batsmen will look to unleash some more magic come tomorrow while pacer Dishmantha Chameera will also be eager to prove his mettle. He has generated steep pace and bounce but has failed to control the swing which has made him stray the ball all around.
Predicted XI’s
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
Sri Lanka: Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Milinda Siriwardana, Chamara Kapugedera (c), Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando, Lasith Malinga
Third ODI Prediction:
There is no doubt about the fact that the Men in Blue will go into the do or die clash for Sri Lanka as outright favorites and will be eager to pocket the series with two matches left. A series win will also provide them with the opportunity to test their bench strength. Given India’s current form and Sri Lanka’s horrendous run, there is no doubt about the fact that India is expected to win tomorrow’s clash at the Pallekele International Stadium in Pallekele.