India vs Sri Lanka 2017: India's probable playing 11 for the third ODI
Sri Lanka came painfully close to claiming their first win of the tour in the second ODI against India earlier this week. The target for India was 231 in 47 overs. And after Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan put up 109 runs for the first wicket, skipper Virat Kohli decided to go on an experimentation spree. He sent Lokesh Rahul at the fall of the first wicket, promoted Kedar Jadhav to number four and went down to number five himself.
However, it went horribly wrong for his team from then on as Akila Dananjaya cut through the Indian middle order with his unpickable deliveries. He scalped the wickets of KL Rahul, Jadhav and Kohli in one over, and then followed up by dismissing Hardik Pandya and Azar Patel in the remainder of his spell.
After taking seven wickets in 22 runs, the hosts made a thumping comeback into the game. It looked like the tables would finally turn in favour of Upul Tharanga and his men.
However, it was not to be.
The cool heads of MS Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar got together to stitch a record 100-run partnership for the eighth wicket. The pair guided India to chase the target with 3 wickets remaining. Kumar, in particular, was excellent with the bat.
With the third game of the five-match series scheduled for tomorrow (August 27), Sri Lanka find themselves in a do-or-die situation. Tharanga is unavailable for the game due to his suspension and opening batsman Danushka Gunathilaka might not also play due to a shoulder injury.
India, on the other hand, have a wide berth for experimentation with the playing XI. With players like Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane and Kuldeep Yadav warming the benches, there is plenty of scope for trying different combinations.