India v Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI: India Predicted XI

India's playing combination for the series decider in Vizag.

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Team India. (Photo Source: Twitter)

After putting on a dismal show in Dharamshala, India made a remarkable comeback in Mohali to level up 1-1 with the visitors. Now it has all come down to the third game which will serve as the series decider and will be played tomorrow in Vishakhapatnam. The Indian team will be taking positive momentum into the game after a clinical victory in the 2nd ODI and will be the firm favourites to clinch another bilateral series at home.

While India ticked most of the boxes in the batting department in Mohali, there were some areas of concern in bowling for sure with Jasprit Bumrah still struggling a little bit with his rhythm and the young Washington Sundar finding it hard to deal with the nerves on debut. Here is India’s predicted XI:

Openers (Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma)

The consistency of the openers has been one of the main reasons why India have played so well in ODI Cricket in the recent past. Shikhar and Rohit had a rare failure in Dharamshala where the wicket did a little too much, but they were quickly back to their straps in Mohali and gave India a near perfect start.

Shikhar ripped into the Sri Lankan bowling right from the word go and played his trademark cuts and drives through the off side. He was pretty severe against both pace and spin and was all set for a hundred before one of his flicks off Sachith Pathirana went aerial and the short midwicket took a diving catch.

Rohit, on the other hand, was comparatively more circumspect first up and was playing a sedate knock till the 35th over before suddenly going berserk in the death and smashing the Sri Lankan bowlers to all corners of the ground to score his third double hundred in ODI cricket. This opening pair which is one of the best in the world right now will hold the key for India again.

Middle order (Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni)

Iyer showed his talent the other day as he played a fluent inning coming in at no. 3 and helped India maintain the momentum that Shikhar had created at the top of the order. He manipulated the strike well and made sure the boundaries were scored at regular intervals. Although he would have preferred a hundred, the knock of 88 was satisfying and would like to continue the good work in Vizag.

Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey didn’t get to bat in Mohali as India shuffled the batting positions after a strong top order performance and got MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya batting at 4 and 5 respectively. Both Dinesh and Manish would be keenly waiting for their opportunities in the 3rd game as this is a very important ODI series for them. They are auditioning for the no. 4 spot and would want a big one next to their name.

Dhoni was in scintillating form in Dharamshala but got out cheaply in Mohali trying to up the ante. India will be counting on his experience and if the wickets fall early, he will be the man for the hosts to steady the ship. The former Indian captain will in all probability be batting at 6.

All-Rounders (Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar)

Hardik has been clumsy with both bat and ball in the series so far, but that’s understandable as he is coming after a bit of a break. However India would be wishing for their premier all-rounder to find form in the series decider and if needed, play the finisher’s role to perfection at no. 7.

The captain Rohit Sharma used Hardik with the new ball in the last game and he delivered by dismissing Upul Tharanga cheaply. Rohit may want him to share the new ball with Bhuvneshwar Kumar again as he possesses the ability to swing the ball upfront.

While Washington Sundar didn’t have a dream debut with the ball, India would certainly give him another game as the Tamil Nadu all-rounder is a fine, fine prospect. The 18-year-old will probably have to bowl a little slower through the air to extract enough from the surface, something which he didn’t do last game.

Bowlers (Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah)

India’s leading spinner Chahal was fantastic in Mohali as he showed his full arsenal as a leg-spinner and broke the backbone of Sri Lankan batting with 3 wickets in the middle overs. India would be expecting him to make a difference in the decider as well.

As far as quicks are concerned, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar has looked alright, the same can’t be said about Bumrah who has probably been put off by his no ball issues. He was bowling a bit behind the crease in Mohali and was clearly not getting that fizz off the wicket which he normally does. He would be looking to have a good spell under his belt.

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