What

The eighth One-Day International of the tri-series competition featuring Australia, India and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka, invigorated after the thumping win against Australia, take on India whom they last met in the thrilling tie.

When

February 21, 2012. The game begins at 08:50 IST.

Where

Woolloongabba, Brisbane. The Lankans will be wary of The Gabba given that they have won only one of the 11 ODIs that they have played here. As far as India are concerned, they might have been thoroughly outplayed by the Australians here the other night, but their familiarity with the conditions should give them an advantage heading into this game.

The Teams

Sri Lanka are making a run in this series having tied a game with India and then having beaten Australia comprehensively in their last encounter. Mahela Jayawardene has impressed with his captaincy, a good example of which was his decision to drop Upul Tharanga (just nine runs from three innings) and promote himself to the opening position with Tillakaratne Dilshan in the game against Australia. That proved to be an inspired move as Sri Lanka produced their first 50-run opening stand of the competition, and Jayawardene (61*) scored his first half-century in seven innings to guide his side to their first win in the 2012 CB series. With the Lankans having bowled reasonably well in the tournament, a batting revival will make them a real threat.

Not only would India be deflated by the 110-run defeat at the hands of the Australians, but the suspension of MS Dhoni would further dampen their morale heading into this game. Parthiv Patel is likely to get his first game of the competition barring any last-minute surprises. Besides that, India’s problems lie mostly in the batting department. Their openers have produced just one half-century stand (Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag in the 4th ODI against Australia) in five matches in this series. Rohit Sharma (79 runs from five innings) and Ravindra Jadeja (76 runs from five innings) are also having an ordinary run. It might be a good idea to give Manoj Tiwary an opportunity before the chance of making it to the finals slips away from the Indians.

Key Players

Tillakaratne Dilshan is Sri Lanka’s second highest run-getter in this competition with 149 runs from four innings. Dilshan has three scores of 40 or more while opening the batting, but has failed to convert those starts into bigger contributions. With the more experienced Jayawardene now partnering him at the top of the order, Dilshan should be able to turn the corner and produce one of his match-winning innings to bolster Sri Lanka’s chances in this competition.

The last time Gautam Gambhir played a match against Sri Lanka at The Gabba was in the 2008 tri-series competition. In that game, Gambhir batted at No. 3 and scored an unbeaten 102* off just 101 deliveries. India, unfortunately, couldn’t gain from Gambhir’s innings as the match was washed out with Sri Lanka not being able to play a ball in their innings. Now, in the 2012 tri-series competition, Gambhir is already the leading run-getter for his team with 193 runs from four innings. With India needing a win to improve their chances of qualifying for the finals, they will look to Gambhir for an encore from 2008 in a more urgent cause.

Trivia

Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka have the best economy-rate among all three teams in the CB Series (4.52), followed by Australia (4.88) and India (5.22)

India – In a combined six innings in the tournament, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have managed just 98 runs at an average of 16.33. They have not hit a six in the tournament yet.

Venue Stats

Sri Lanka – played – 11, won - 1, lost – 9, tied – 0, no result – 1

India – played – 13, won – 4, lost – 7, tied – 0, no result – 2

Highest total in an innings: Australia 324/7 in 50.0 overs v West Indies – February 14, 2010

Lowest total in an innings: Pakistan 71 in 23.4 overs v West Indies - January 9, 1993

Best individual score in an innings: David Gower (England) – 158 v New Zealand – January 15, 1983

Best bowling figures in an innings: Chris Woakes (England) 10.0-0-45-6 v Australia – January 30, 2011

Average first innings score at the Gabba in ODIs:

In day/night matches: 239

In all matches: 225

Result summary at the Gabba in ODIs:

Head-to-head

Last ODI meeting between Sri Lanka and India at Brisbane: February 5, 2008

Brief scores: India 267/4 in 50.0 overs – No result – Match washed out

Form guide in ODIs (most recent listed first):

Sri Lanka: Won, Tied, Lost, Lost, Won (2 wins, 1 tie, 2 losses)

India: Lost, Tied, Won, Won, Lost (2 losses, 1 tie, 2 wins)

The Squads

India: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Praveen Kumar, R Vinay Kumar, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma, Parthiv Patel (wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan & Irfan Pathan

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (c), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekara, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Thisara Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Kumar Sangakkara, Sachithra Senannayake, Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Thirimanne, Chanaka Welegedara, Thilan Samaraweera (standby player)

All stats are as onFebruary 20, 2012