Rohit Sharma-led India will aim to salvage their reputation in the third and final ODI against hosts Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday. The first match of the series ended in a draw, while the hosts convincingly defeated India in the second game.
Notably, the last time India lost a bilateral ODI series in Sri Lanka was in 1997, when Arjuna Ranatunga led the hosts to a 3-0 whitewash of Sachin Tendulkar’s men. Since then, in the 11 series played in Sri Lanka, the hosts have never managed to come out on top.
Indian bowlers have been effective in restricting the opposition, but the batting lineup has faltered. Although Rohit Sharma has provided solid starts, the middle order has struggled to build on them. Key players like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer are yet to find their rhythm in the series, and there’s no better time for them to step up than now, to avoid a series loss.
India and Sri Lanka squads:
India:
Rohit Sharma (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.
Sri Lanka:
Charith Asalanka (c), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Nishan Madushka, Dunith Wellalage, Chamika Karunaratne, Akila Dananjaya, Mohamed Shiraz, Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando, Eshan Malinga, Jeffrey Vandersay.