Sri Lanka has pride to play for
Sri Lanka will be looking to end what has been a disappointing home season so far on a positive note with victory in the fifth and final One-Day International against India on Sunday.
Defeat will mean India sweeping the series 5-0, having already won the three-Test series 3-0. There is a one-off Twenty20 International to be played on Wednesday, and that is when the tour formally comes to a close, but a win there will not mean as much as it would in the last ODI of this series at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Sri Lanka had needed to win at least two matches to ensure Windies would have no chance of going ahead in the qualification race for the ICC World Cup 2019. It has now lost the chance to do that, but winning the fifth ODI will ensure the path is tougher for Windies. Apart from that, it is also a chance for Sri Lanka to show that it can bounce back in the face of adversity.
So far, the team has not been successful in its attempts, and a large part of that is down to how clinical its opponent has been. But there is always the hope that lady luck is somewhere around the corner.
For that though, Sri Lanka will need to raise its game significantly, because India is not going to be complacent about this game. This is the visiting side’s chance at an 8-0 sweep, the likes of which it has never achieved overseas in a series comprising a minimum of three Tests and three ODIs.
Ever since India ensured the series win in the third ODI though, the team management has been in more of a mood to experiment. Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper, started with a set playing XI and stuck to it for the first three games. But for the fourth ODI, he made three changes, bringing in Shardul Thakur, Manish Pandey and Kuldeep Yadav for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kedar Jadhav and Yuzvendra Chahal respectively.
Going by what Kohli had to say at the post-match presentation of the 168-run win on Thursday, he was planning on sticking to the same eleven for the upcoming game, but because of a late development on Saturday, he will be forced to make one change.
Shikhar Dhawan will travel to India on the morning of the game to be by his ailing mother, and he will also miss the sole T20I.
This means Ajinkya Rahane, the team’s third opener, will finally get a chance to bat in the limited-overs leg of the series. Such is India’s strength that it could afford to have someone of Rahane’s ability on the bench for four games.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, has lost a bunch of batsmen to injuries. The good news is that Upul Tharanga will return to captaining the side after having served his two-match ban for a slow over-rate offence in the second game at Pallekele.
In his absence, Chamara Kapugedera stood as the skipper in the third ODI, but was then ruled out of the series with a bad back. Lasith Malinga took over as the skipper for the fourth ODI, but had to endure India romping to 375 for 5.
Sri Lanka had chased down India’s 322 in the Champions Trophy in June, so a few hoped for a miracle, though this time the team had to go after the mammoth target without Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Perera and Asela Gunaratne.
The trio, who had added a combined 157 runs in that run chase, are out with injuries. Perera and Gunaratne were ruled out even before the start of the series, while Gunathilaka suffered a shoulder injury during the second game. Gunathilaka could, however, return for this game and his presence at the top bodes well for Sri Lanka.
Speaking of presence, what about MS Dhoni? Looking sharper than ever before, at 36, the former Indian skipper is on a mission. Dhoni has so far compiled three successive unbeaten knocks, and two of those came when India was under the pump. He has made minor technical changes to his batting and is now reaping the rewards for his commitment.
There was the one game - when Akila Dananjaya picked up six wickets and left India reeling at 131 for 7 - where Sri Lanka came within sniffing distance of a win. A victory in the second ODI in Pallekele could have been an answer to a nation's prayers, with several payers reiterating that “One win will change everything.”
The home side did not cross the line then because Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar came in the way, and since then it has been on the hunt for that elusive victory.
Teams (likely):
Sri Lanka: Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Upul Tharanga (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Milinda Siriwardana, Akila Dananjaya, Malinda Pushpakumara, Vishwa Fernando, Lasith Malinga.
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (capt), KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur.