India seek middle-overs quick fix in a bid to salvage series

Quite early on in the practice session on Tuesday, Shubman Gill stepped out against Axar Patel and gave his left-arm spin a hard whack. Using of feet was one aspect of India's game that was completely shelved against the Sri Lankan spinners in the second ODI, which they lost, leaving them with the need to salvage the series in the last game.

As many as five batters were pinged on their pads and dismissed LBW on Sunday - the joint-most number of wickets they have lost in an ODI in this fashion. Troubling them was a leggie who was not even in the original squad till a day earlier, with nothing more complicated than sticking to a stump-to-stump line. Abhishek Nayar, India's assistant coach, had admitted to the troubles that the Indian batters faced through the middle overs for two games in a row, and the need to go back and rectify those errors.

In the two-hour session, where Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli especially spent the majority of the time, they would hope that some of their experiments have held them in good stead heading into the last game of the ongoing Sri Lanka tour.

The loss in the second match has also opened up India's options - to field their best possible XI or experiment keeping in mind the next big ICC tournament that's coming in a matter of six months. For the newly-appointed Gautam Gambhir-led coaching staff, a loss would be quite a jolt having inherited a side that had put to display some of India's best ODI cricket less than a year ago. For all the early success in their reign, they wouldn't want to end their two-week trip to the south on a note where they find themselves with more questions than answers.

When: Wednesday, August 7, 2024, 2:30 PM Local Time

Where: R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

What to expect: It is expected to be yet another low-scoring encounter, with assistance for spinners. The weather will likely be pleasant with slight cloudy cover in the skies through the afternoon.

Team News:

Sri Lanka: Having not lost a game as yet in this series, Sri Lanka are likely to stick to the same XI that they played on Sunday. Dunith Wellalage could earn a promotion in the batting order.

Probable XI: Avishka Fernando, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka (C), Janith Liyanage, Kusal Mendis, Dunith Wellalage, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Asitha Fernando

India: Rohit Sharma turned up for practice on Tuesday but didn't bat. On the other hand, Rishabh Pant did tonk the ball around a bit against the spinners in the nets. Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul had fairly long sessions. Neither Mohammed Siraj nor Arshdeep Singh bowled.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shivam Dube/Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed

Did you know?

• Before the start of this series, Janith Liyanage averaged 199 against spinners in ODIs. In this series, he has scored 32 runs in two innings, out of which in one, he walked without edging the ball

• In 34 overs, Dunith Wellalage and Akila Dananjaya have combined to concede 173 runs and picked only three wickets

• Sadeera Samarawickrama, who had come into this series averaging 180 against left-arm orthodox spin, has been dismissed twice in as many games by Axar Patel in the ongoing series

What they said:

Honestly, we are quality players of spin. We always played in these kinds of wickets even at home even in tests and in domestic cricket as well on such wickets. We know a lot of our players have done well in the middle-order especially batting against spin as well. It is just a matter of finding a way in their own individual ways and trying to get the job done - Washington Sundar, India all-rounder, ahead of the third ODI

There was a lot of pressure coming into the side. I am coming out of a layoff... There was assistance in the wicket, I was trying to hit the good areas. Once I got my first wicket, that built up my confidence. Fortunately, I was able to take six wickets -Jeffrey Vandersay, Sri Lanka spinner, after taking six wickets in the second ODI