Team India has done nothing wrong in the ongoing 3-match Test series between India and Sri Lanka as they are leading the series by 1-0. All the Indian batsmen including Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara have scored runs. Even the bowlers haven’t left behind as they put every step forward to make sure that Virat Kohli and his men stand a chance of winning the games.
However, coming to the final Test match, there are some concerns for the hosts which they need to address. First will be the opening combination, as all the three openers have been scoring runs on a consistent basis. The selection process thus in the 3rd Test will be a tough choice as India’s next project is against South Africa where the conditions will be pretty challenging.
The other issue will be the bowling combination, as it will be interesting to see with Kohli goes with 4 or 5 bowlers in Delhi as the pitch is speculated to be similar to the Kolkata Test. Virat will also be looking to give some more game time to Ajinkya Rahane, who isn’t having a great time in the series so far and he will be a crucial cog against SA.
On the other hand, Islanders have their own quota of concerns which need to be tackled. They just don’t seem to find a perfect team balance that will help them to win matches. The team which won a historic Test series against Pakistan hasn’t been able to put a competition to India barring the first couple of days in Kolkata Test. This series has seen Sri Lanka yet again found themselves requiring as to figure out a strategy to win games.
Sri Lanka will be missing the services of their veterans Rangana Herath and Lahiru Thirimmanne in the final Test. Thirimanne has been injured while Herath has some issues with his back and he has also not been able to leave his mark on the Indian batsmen. Dasun Shakana being involved in a ball-tampering dispute in the second Test also might struggle to make it to the squad.
Thus the Sri Lankan team management has a huge task on their hands to select a team which will challenge the hosts and besides that, they need to have the belief in them to win it for their teams.
Talking about the weather in Delhi, it will be expected that there will be a chilly start to the morning sessions. But batting will get easier as the day progresses as conditions aren’t expected to get overcast like they did in Kolkata.
Probable XIs
India: KL Rahul/Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav/Mohammed Shami
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Lahiru Thirimanne/Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal (c), Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dasun Shanaka, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Lahiru Gamage, Suranga Lakmal
