Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, India is going into the third and final One Day International (ODI) of the ongoing series against Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. With a defeat in the second game and a tied start in the opening clash between the two sides, the Blue Brigade is up for a new challenge.
It has been 27 years since they lost a 50-over series against the Island side, and on Wednesday (August 07), the Charith Asalanka-led side will have a huge opportunity to register a new record them in history.
The biggest struggle of the series for the Indian team has been their poor middle order in the batting department. Even though Rohit Sharma has fired at the opening position in both the two games, the rest of the batting line-up is yet to come to party.
This player is expected to lead India in Rohit Sharma’s potential absence against Sri Lanka
In the first game of the series, the two-time champions did a decent job at the start with the new ball to pick up a few early and crucial wickets at the top order, before the lower order of the home side fired up with some vital contributions as Dunith Wellalage showed his batting skills to help them in posting a respected target.
Rohit Sharma looked to different touch at the opening spot, despite playing his first game of the format after nearly nine months since the final of the 50-over World Cup. The Nagpur-born blasted the pacers and spinners all around the park to notch up a bright innings of 58 runs in 47 balls, shouldering on seven boundaries and three sixes.
The visitors fell like a pack of cards since his wicket, as the middle order despite having Virat Kohli couldn’t get going in chasing the total, as they tied the result.
A couple of days later in the second game of the series, the same story continued. Sri Lanka showed a dip in their middle order as the set batters were not able to contribute much with the bat in hand. This again put pressure on the lower order of the side, as Wellalage smashed 39 runs in 35 balls, besides getting huge support from Kamindu Mendis for the latter’s 40 runs.
In the chase of 241 runs, Rohit Sharma again displayed another masterclass innings where he crunched 64 runs in 44 balls with the help of five boundaries and four sixes at a strike rate of 145.45. Despite finding themselves at 116/1, the rest of the line-up could add only 92 runs for the loss for the last nine wickets.
Now, before the third ODIs, the visiting camp has received a major blow by the potential news of their captain’s injury. According to various reports, the veteran opted out of the training session on Tuesday (August 06), as he neither batted nor bowled and kept himself away from fielding.
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During the 12.5 over in the previous game, Rohit Sharma was seen to be struggling with his thigh. With a long home season awaiting, the Indian management could think of giving a break to the experienced batter.
If the 37-year-old misses out, the vice-captain, Shubman Gill, is expected to lead the Indian team. In the opening spot, it will be interesting to see their choice of player, given they don’t have a reserve opener in the squad.