Indian fans hate India – Sri Lanka matches and find them dreadfully boring. This has been the case in this series as well, as Sri Lanka simply haven’t turned up. All the three matches played so far in the series have been entirely forgettable because of a complete absence of anything resembling a “competition”. India have had a cakewalk in this series so far, and Sri Lanka seem completely disinterested.
What’s happening in the series so far is, Shikhar Dhawan gets a big start for India, India pile on the runs, Sri Lanka lose early wickets at the start, stage a mild recovery through the middle order, only to capitulate completely during the power play. This has happened time and time again, so much so that it has become completely predictable and boring. At least, Sri Lanka would be reassured to know that Dhawan won’t figure in the rest of the series as he is being rested. But they won’t be happy about the replacement – Rohit Sharma.
India need to win this series 4-1 to remain at the top of the ODI rankings, and go 2 points clear of South Africa if they win 5-0, completely blanking out Sri Lanka, which looks entirely possible. Virat Kohli, the Indian captain for this series had this to say about his captaincy experience so far: “There have been times in the past when I’ve just been a part of the side – not leading – and you feel like: “Why is that not happening?” or “That could have been done”. Captaincy gives me an opportunity to actually open up my vision and the ideas I have, and actually implement them on the field. I strongly believe in whatever I do on the field, and that’s why more often than not, we’re able to execute those plans.”
Kohli gets to better his captaincy credentials even further if he manages to win the series 5-0, but nobody really is making a big deal of these wins because of the timidity with which the Sri Lankans have played so far.
Mahela Jayawardene, veteran Sri Lankan batsman, tried hard to take the pressure off his beleaguered teammates, saying: “We have had a 80% win percentage this year, before this series, and we’ve been a very consistent team. Three matches here have been disappointing, but it doesn’t take away all the good work we’ve done through the year.”
Well, that is small consolation for having played so abysmally. Captain Angelo Mathews said that Sri Lanka could hardly afford their young players wasting so many opportunities and talked about how disappointed he was with them. Sri Lanka would be hoping for Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne to take up some of the responsibility.
The match will be played at Eden Gardens, and this promises to be a special occasion as this is the 150th anniversary of the ground, considered to be one of the greatest in the cricketing world. The pitch will be flat, placid and great for batting – just like any other Indian pitch. The weather is bright and sunny, and it’s unlikely that we will have any rain at all.
For India, besides Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa is expected to play. Dhawal Kulkarni and Stuart Binny may also get an opportunity.
The Teams
India: 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Robin Uthappa (wk), 7 Stuart Binny , 8 Akshar Patel, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Umesh Yadav
Sri Lanka: 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 Seekkuge Prasanna, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Lahiru Gamage/ Shaminda Eranga
Watch the match this afternoon at 1:30 PM, live on Star Sports.
