It has been an abysmal performance by Sri Lanka so far in this series. Captain Angelo Mathews is not one to mince words. He admitted his side was thrashed and that he was very embarrassed with his team’s show so far. The way Sri Lanka have capitulated this series was unexpected given that they had won 15 of their last 20 matches before this series began. 12 out of those victories came abroad, of only 14 matches.
So the problem isn’t that Sri Lanka don’t do well abroad or are in poor form. The problem seems to be that the Indian players are very familiar with the Sri Lankan players, know exactly what to expect from them, and love playing against them. The majority of the Indian players have their best performances against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is clearly a team Indians would want to play against as often as they can. Even batsmen like Shikhar Dhawan who looked like walking wickets in England, play like Don Bradman against Sri Lanka.
What has also gone against the Sri Lankans is that the pitches in India have been completely placid, with no life in them whatsoever, further blunting their bowling attack, which anyway was nothing to write home about. Sri Lanka’s fielding too has been pathetic in the last two matches, which is not something you expect to see from them. With players like Tilekaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardhane and Kumar Sangakara well in their 30s, a bit of lethargy on the field can be expected from them. What is inexplicable is that even the younger Sri Lankans have been lazy on the field, often letting the ball go to the boundary rather than take a dive to stop it.
India are basically playing their second eleven, with the exception of a few players, and even so, they hardly seem to have broken into a sweat. India look completely in control with even new players like Axar Patel looking like match winners. India’s batting looks unbeatable with even an irregular part of the Indian line-up, Ambati Rayudu, picking up a big unbeaten hundred in the last match. There doesn’t seem to be a weakness of any sort in the Indian team. How could the Sri Lankans really beat such a side, which is clearly superior to them?
Virat Kohli too has proved to be a more than capable captain. His bowling changes have been perfect and field placements brilliant. His batting also seems to be back on track after a complete capitulation against James Anderson’s England. At IndiaBet.org, we would be surprised to see India lose even one match in this 5-match series.
Match Conditions:
It’s going to be a bright sunny day at Hyderabad, but the temperature is expected to be moderate with the onset of winter in South India. The pitch is like any other Indian pitch – dry, flat and great for batting.
The Teams:
India: 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 7Ravindra Jadeja/Dhawal Kulkarni, 8 Akshar Patel, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav
Sri Lanka: 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Ashan Priyanjan, 7 Seekkuge Prasanna, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Dhammika Prasad, 10 Suraj Randiv/ Nuwan Kulasekara, 11 Lahiru Gamage
