India will look to register another thumping win against Sri Lanka © Getty Images
By CricketCountry Staff
Adelaide: Feb 14, 2012
India will look to continue their winning momentum when they take on Sri Lanka in the fifth match of the Commonwealth Bank Tri-Series at Adelaide on Tuesday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men have got a shot in the arm after beating Sri Lanka and Australia in successive matches and their much in debate rotation policy has till now worked.
Not often that one finds Sachin Tendulkar being rested despite being fit and available but the positive aspect is the number of options available for the Indian team with talented players like Praveen Kumar and Rahul Sharma raring to go.
However Sri Lankan side won't be mere pushovers even though haven't been able to register a single victory.
Twice in Perth, they had India and Australia on the ropes and just couldn't finish off the match. They allowed India to escape from 181 for six in the first match and needed only a hit to prevail over Australia.
It's a fair bet that the old firm of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka's best in batting could come good on the batting-friendly track of Adelaide Oval.
Both have been relative failures in the first two matches but both have given glimpses of their sublime touch and assuredness. If the two are able to spend quality time in the middle, and Tillakaratne Dilshan is able to convert his blazing start, Lankans have enough all-rounders to post a sizeable total on the board.
Teams:
India: Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni (c&wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, R Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Irfan Pathan.
Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Dinesh Chandimal, Mahela Jayawardene (c), Angelo Mathews, Sachithra Senanayake, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Thisara Perera, Rangana Herath.
Catch live scores and ball-by-ball commentary of the India-Sri Lanka fifth ODI here
