3rd Test Match, Sri Lanka vs India: India Predicted XI

With India sealing their eight consecutive Test series on a trot, the match at Pallekele might be termed as a dead rubber but also an opportunity for the Indians to test their bench strength in bowling. Sri Lanka has had an abysmal series until now but their reply in the second innings of the Colombo Test might have given a new ray of hope in terms of inspiration within the team.

India leads the series by a margin of 2-0 and would be looking to for a whitewash in an away series, which the Indians have been devoid of in recent history. With the two teams looking at the match tomorrow differently, it all makes way for an interesting Test match at Pallekele. Let us look at the predicted XI for India.

Openers (KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan)

KL Rahul impressed one and all with his comeback in the whites for India in Test at Colombo. He has been in unbelievable form and showed no sign of rust as he brought up his sixth consecutive Test half century. Rahul was all set break the jinx of not converting his 50s into 100s before he was involved in an unfortunate run out with Cheteshwar Pujara.

He now has the perfect opportunity at Pallekele to register a ton post the 199 against England at Chennai in front of a demoralized bowling attack. Shikhar Dhawan these days threatens to hit a boundary every ball he faces. He found his old touch back as every ball meets the middle of his MRF bat. Indians would look at batting only once yet again and Dhawan would be one player looking to fill in his boots with another notable inning, before making way for Murali Vijay.

Middle Order (Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha)

The middle order of Indian Cricket team is rich in form with all the players scoring at least one century in the series. Pujara, who has been the bulk scorer for the Indian cricket team for the past couple of seasons, would be looking to score his third successive ton in the series and hopefully, look to not be involved in any run-out. With the number one batting position on the line, Kohli would have to amass many runs to overhaul Steve Smith tally of points.

Kohli had an opportunity to do that in the current series against a toothless bowling attack but missed out. However, he would look to consolidate his place in the rankings by notching up another important milestone. Ajinkya Rahane would be a relieved man after getting to a three figure score after 18 innings and 10 Test match at Galle. He carried on his form he found in the West Indies and continued to trouble the scorers with his contributions in the series.

Rahane would want another important inning behind him before he puts on the blues for India in the upcoming ODI series. Rated as the best wicket keeper in the world presently, Wriddhiman Saha has also chipped in with important contribution down the order with his gritty knocks. He has forged important partnerships to put on bonus runs for India under pressure which deflated the opposition’s Morales in the recent past.

All Rounder (Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardik Pandya)

With the one match ban on Ravindra Jadeja, the two genuine all rounders for India would be Ravichandran Ashwin and Hardik Pandya. With the series done and dusted, it would have been tempting to play Rohit Sharma at number six. But that would, in turn, ruin the balance of the Indian team which Kohli has had an affinity for.

Ashwin, in turn, would be batting at the number 6 position followed by Saha and Pandya. With the Ash at 6 and Pandya at 8, we are looking at five bowling options in hand for Virat Kohli along with a formidable lower middle order. One has to wait and see where Rohit Sharma can be slotted in to bat in the whites for India.

Bowlers (Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav)

With the workload Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav have had in the recent past, it would be a feasible option to rest them for the final Test at Pallekele. Which opens the door for Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma who have been itching to have a go at the Lankans from the sidelines.

Ishant Sharma, who won the match for India in the series decider last time around when they toured Sri Lanka with his 8-wicket haul in the match, would want to repeat his heroics two years hence. Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the new ball is always a reliable attacking option to have. He has now added reverse swing to his arsenal with the old ball.

With the ban of Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav will get a nod ahead of Axar Patel. He would want to come out and state that his performance against the Aussies in Dharmasala was not a matter of fluke.