After an overwhelming victory over Sri Lanka in the second T20 at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi on Friday, India are eyeing their second consecutive T20 series victory.
India and Sri Lanka will face-off in the series-deciding T20 encounter at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
Much has been spoken about pitches after India's debacle in the first T20 in Pune. MS Dhoni & co. were provided with just the kind of pitch India likes to play on in Ranchi. The result was as expected in the second T20.
The wicket in Vishakapatnam is going to be a similar one as well. One can expect yet another run feast. The batsmen will have to apply themselves a little more on such kind of wickets. The dew factor will not come into play during the third T20 in Vishakapatnam. Team winning the toss will look to bat first and put a good total on the scoreboard to exert some serious pressure on the opponent.
Sri Lanka spinner have not done a great deal in this series as Sachithra Senanayake was taken to the cleaners in the second T20. Seekkuge Prasanna has not managed to turn the ball much either.
Meanwhile, Ashwin was absolutely brilliant in the second T20. In his spell of four overs, he conceded only 14 runs and bagged three scalps. Ravindra Jadeja bowled well too and maintained his record of being the highest wicket-taker in that venue. Ashwin and Jadeja will yet again hold the key for India's success in the final T20 in Vishakapatnam on Sunday.
Sri Lanka is likely to drop Prasanna for the final game and give Jeffrey Vandersay a chance. This will be a terrific opportunity for the youngster to prove his worth ahead of the two big-ticket tournaments Asia Cup T20 and ICC World T20 2016. Niroshan Dickwella might just get another chance as Danushka Gunathilaka has not impressed in this series.
It is highly unlikely that MS Dhoni will make any change to his side for the final match of the series. Hardik Pandya' heroics with the bat has most likely earned him a place in the playing XI for the third T20. As Team director Ravi Shastri spoke about trying out all possible combinations, one might think that someone like Harbhajan Singh should get a game ahead of Asia Cup and ICC World T20. Ajinkya Rahane will try and prove his value as his position in the T20 side will be in danger as he will be replaced by Virat Kohli in the next tournaments.
Probable XI's:
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (C & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah.
Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Niroshan Dickwella, Dinesh Chandimal (C & wk), Chamara Kapugedera, Milinda Siriwardana, Dasun Shanaka, Thisara Perera, Jeffrey Vandersay,Sachitra Senanayake, Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera.
