Rohit eyes first series win as captain

Visakhapatnam, December 16 

Rohit Sharma will aim to maintain his superb batting form and win his first series as captain when India take on Sri Lanka in the third and final ODI at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

After a thumping seven-wicket loss against Sri Lanka in the first match, Rohit created history by becoming the first batsman to score a third double century in ODIs as India bounced back to win by 141 runs and level the series at 1-1.

If Sri Lanka pull off a win on Sunday, it will be their first bilateral ODI series win in India. 

India, on the other hand, will aim to keep up their superb form at home that has seen them win every series since their defeat to South Africa in October 2015.

If India’s past record at this venue is anything to go by, they have an excellent chance to keep their excellent run going. The hosts have lost only one of the seven matches they have played at this ground and Sri Lanka will have to be at the top of their game to get past the Indians. 

Placed second in the ODI rankings, India will look to Rohit to lead from the front and give the side a flying start. All eyes will be on fellow opener Shikhar Dhawan, who scored a brilliant half-century in the previous match to dominate the innings from the beginning.

One-down batsman Shreyas Iyer, who scored his maiden ODI half-century in the previous match, will only add strength to the formidable Indian batting line-up along with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey. 

To lead the bowling attack, India would depend on Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. Wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who bagged a three-wicket haul in the last match, will be the key in the middle overs to provide crucial breaks and stem the flow of runs.

For Sri Lanka, captain Thisara Perera will look to re-work his team’s strategies to help the visitors return to winning ways. Perera will also share the bowling responsibility with Angelo Mathews, Suranga Lakmal and Akila Dananjaya, who could not trouble the Indians in Mohali. 

For the eighth ranked ODI side, batting will heavily rely on experienced campaigners Upul Tharanga and Angelo Mathews. Sri Lanka will also hope Danushka Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella and Asela Gunaratne to get amongst runs.  — IANS

ODIs in Visakhapatnam

6 ODIs have been played at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam. India have won 5 and lost 1 of them. Details:

  Opponent           Result

Pakistan, 2005 Ind won by 58 runs

Sri Lanka, 2007 Ind won by 7 wkts

Australia, 2010 Ind won by 5 wkts

W Indies, 2011 Ind won by 5 wkts

W Indies, 2013 Ind lost by 2 wkts

N Zealand, 2016 Ind won by 190 runs

Note: 5 ODIs were played at the Indira Priyadarshini Stadium in the city, from 1988 to 2001

Visakhapatnam numbers 

• 148  By MS Dhoni is the highest individual score in an ODI at the venue, made vs Pakistan in 2005 
• 5/18  Is the best bowling analysis at the ground, by Amit Mishra against New Zealand in 2016
• 356  Is the highest team score here, by India against Pakistan in 2005
• 399  Runs by Virat Kohli in 4 innings is the highest individual aggregate by a batsman at this ground
• 2  Times the team batting first has won here, and 4 ODis were won by the team batting second

"We have learnt a lot of things. Especially when we played in Kolkata (during the first Test) and in Dharamsala (first ODI). It was seaming and it was a damp wicket but we still went in with a positive intent and gave our best. Of course, it did not go our way but we all learnt from it. It's good sometimes when you fall, you learn a lots of things"

Shikhar Dhawan, India Opener:  " From our side we take it as just another game. Not thinking too much as to whether the series is at stake or whatever. We want to play just another game. India are the best team in the world and I am sure they will be under some sort of pressure. I took a look at the pitch, it looks to me a bit dry. There has been only one high-scoring game in the past here. Today and yesterday there's been good sunshine and I am sure there will be turn and the wicket will be slow"

Thisara Perera, Sri Lanka captain: "From our side we take it as just another game. Not thinking too much as to whether the series is at stake or whatever. We want to play just another game. India are the best team in the world and I am sure they will be under some sort of pressure. I took a look at the pitch, it looks to me a bit dry. There has been only one high-scoring game in the past here. Today and yesterday there's been good sunshine and I am sure there will be turn and the wicket will be slow"