3 player battles to watch out for in IND vs SL 3rd ODI
Team India have already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka with the final game to be played in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. While this may seem like a dead rubber, almost no game can be considered a foregone conclusion in the build-up to the ODI World Cup.
The hosts will still want to play a strong XI and will probably look if they can make a couple of changes to test their bench strength. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have direct qualification for the World Cup on the line and these crucial 10 points at stake will ensure that there's enough to play for the visitors.
Although the Men in Blue won the first two games, there have been certain match-ups, which kept the fans intrigued. Sri Lanka will also know that they had their moments in the first two games and that will give them some hope of securing a win in the final ODI.
On that note, let's take a look at the three player battles that could prove to be critical in deciding the result of the third ODI in Thiruvananthapuram:
#3 Shreyas Iyer vs Wanindu Hasaranga
🏻Iyer owns Hasaranga 😭👋🏻
Thiruvananthapuram has hosted just one ODI till date, with India facing West Indies back in 2018. The Indian spinners enjoyed their day out, with Ravindra Jadeja picking up four wickets. This would certainly interest the Sri Lankan spinners, Wanindu Hasaranga in particular.
The leg-spinner hasn't had a great ODI series so far and one could argue that the Indian batters negotiated him pretty well. Shreyas Iyer has been particularly good against Hasaranga, having scored 42 runs in 31 balls against the wrist-spinner in international cricket.
The right-hander has also had a quiet series with the bat and will want to score big in the third ODI. This scenario makes the match-up even more intriguing.
#2 Dasun Shanaka vs Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav opens up on Dasun Shanaka’s dismissal: “Everyone had planned a lot in the meeting over how to get him out” dlvr.it/SgqWTF https://t.co/Kb4c7YBNq1
Although the scorelines in the T20Is and ODIs have been in the hosts' favor, Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka has arguably been a thorn for Rohit Sharma's side in most games. The explosive all-rounder just seems to raise his game while facing this opposition and the hosts have found it difficult to negotiate him.
However, this wasn't the case in the previous game as Shanaka was completely outfoxed by Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep has conceded 29 runs in the 30 balls that he has bowled to Shanaka in international cricket, but has also dismissed the batter thrice. The hosts finally seem to have a trump card to stop Shanaka's carnage.
#1 Virat Kohli vs Lahiru Kumara
What a delivery by Lahiru Kumara to Virat Kohli !
#viratkholi
#INDvSL https://t.co/w3kuIxx56N
Virat Kohli smashed hundreds in back-to-back ODIs after a long time and many expected him to make it a hat-trick of centuries in the second ODI at Eden Gardens. That wasn't to be as the star batter was cleaned up by an absolute peach from Sri Lankan speedster Lahiru Kumara.
The ball hit a hard length and nipped back off the seam, catching Kohli off-guard and rattling his stumps. This will give Kumara a lot of confidence ahead of the final ODI.
January 15 has been lucky for Kohli, as he has smashed three international hundreds on this day over the years. So it will be interesting to see if Kohli makes his knock in Thiruvananthapuram memorable, or whether Kumara stops him in his tracks once again.