What 3rd ODI of the five-match series between India and Sri Lanka When November 9th, 2014 Where Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad The Teams India Almost everything that you can think of is going right for India. The thinking cap is right, team selections bang on and players are performing their roles with precision. You bowl first - we get the runs; you bat first - we bowl you out to a total that we would chase like a walk in the park. This seems to be the mindset in the Indian dressing room. Virat Kohli in his pre-match press conference at Ahmedabad stressed on the importance of every member in the team being prepared with adequate match practice under their belt before the marquee event next year. Well, he is preparing his troops and how. Batsmen are walking in to bat at positions they aren’t used to batting at, countering situations they aren’t used to battling, but the pleasant sight being emerging successful at the end of it. If Kohli taking the powerplay early in the first ODI came as a surprise, he included three spinners in the line-up when most were expecting Dhawal Kulkarni to be the third seamer. 2-0 up and India would be looking to seal the deal at Hyderabad on Sunday. Sri Lanka Captain Angelo Mathews would be racking his brains in finding ways to curtail this rampant Indian side. In the first ODI his bowlers leaked far too many runs and by his own acceptance, the batting lacked intent in the run-chase. At Ahmedabad in the 2nd ODI, Mathews would have expected the ‘intent’ to be shown on the field. Sadly, barring himself and Kumar Sangakkara, none of the other batsmen looked like going all the way and bat till the end. The result - not much runs on the board and India chased it with ease. What would it take to stop this Indian side that is ready to bulldoze any challenge put forward to them? Will bowling combinations or changes in the playing eleven for Sri Lanka work? The answers lie within Mathews and company who need to put forward their best front come Sunday. For starters they need to get a solid opening partnership. One thing common in both ODIs was the lack of a good platform. This is where Tillakaratne Dilshan needs to take the onus and lead the opening battle with the bat. The middle order anyway looks sorted with the senior pros in action and a good opening partnership could be amongst the few answers to Sri Lanka’s woes. If Lanka can get a good opening stand they could see themselves either setting a huge target or on course of a successful run-chase. It would be a litmus test for the team in all departments in the third ODI and they would have to rise against all odds to put this Indian team on the back foot. If they lose this ODI, the series would be done and dusted with not much meaning left in the remaining ODIs. Key Players India With the teams set to undergo a few tweaks after the third ODI, each member in that Indian team would be looking to put up commendable performances to seal their place for the remainder of the ODIs and make a case for themselves for the long run - the series down under and the World Cup. Ambati Rayudu was prolific in his unbeaten match-winning century in the second ODI but he would want to continue his good run and seal a berth in the playing eleven. With chances of Rohit Sharma making it back to the Indian side after justifying his fitness in the practice game, Rayudu needs to be on his toes since one blip could well pave way for Sharma in the playing eleven. Sri Lanka If Tillakaratne Dilshan has the responsibility of giving a good start to his team, it is up to senior pros in Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara to hold together the middle order. Mahela Jayawardene showed glimpses of form in the first ODI scoring a 36-ball 43 that one it over the ropes and six confident boundaries. Sangakkara is already looking in good touch and if Mahela can give his partner good company, Sri Lanka could well be posing a huge challenge ahead of India. Stats Overview 1. Average first innings score at Hyderabad: 297 2. Average second innings score at Hyderabad: 254 3.Result summary at Hyderabad:

4. Head-to-head:

5. Last meeting between both sides at Hyderabad: These two teams have not met at this venue before. 6. Form guide (most recent listed first): India: Won, Won, Won, Won, Lost Sri Lanka: Lost, Lost, Won, Won, Lost 7. Pace vs Spin at Hyderabad (Who has been more effective)

Trivia Virat Kohli averages 59.20 with bat as captain. Among all players who have captained their respective sides in at least 10 ODIs, only AB de Villiers averages more (65.30) India have successfully chased down a target of 275 on 31 occasions- easily the most such occasions for any side in ODIs. Sri Lanka are distant second with 16 such instances. The Squads India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, W Saha, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhawal Kulkarni, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Murali Vijay, Stuart Binny, Axar Patel. Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (capt), Kusal Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Ashan Priyanjan, Niroshan Dickwella, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dhammika Prasad, Lahiru Gamage, Chaturanga de Silva, Seekuge Prasanna, Suraj Randiv.