What Third match of the three-Test series between Sri Lanka and India When August 28-September 1, 2015. 10:00 IST | 04:30 GMT Where

Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, Sri Lanka The teams Sri Lanka They came back from the dead to win the first Test in Galle and then succumbed meekly to India at the P Sara Oval. The end of the second Test was an emotional affair for the hosts as they bid goodbye to their legend and the strongest cog in their batting lineup, Kumar Sangakkara. Going into the final Test of the series, Angelo Mathews and his team will have to regroup in more ways than one. Not only will they have to bounce back from the scathing loss of 278 runs but also find an able man to replace their iconic No. 3. In all likelihood, that man will be Upul Tharanga. Sri Lanka’s success will, to a large extent, depend on how well they overcome their loss and how well they exploit India’s shuffled lineup caused by injuries to their in-form batsmen – Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. India After the shock at Galle, Team India showed gall in Colombo. After coming close a couple of times in the past, Virat Kohli finally had his first win as India’s Test captain. Ajinkya Rahane took up the challenge at No. 3 and replied with a century in the second innings. KL Rahul showed maturity with his hundred in the first. The fast bowlers, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav, bent their backs and impressed in the conditions that had next to no assistance for them. R Ashwin continued to weave his magic with the Kookaburra and Amit Mishra played a perfect foil to the off-spinner. Without a doubt, the young unit would be bustling with confidence and belief.

But there are a few challenges facing skipper Virat, as he leads his troop at the SSC to clinch the series. His in-form openers are out of the series, which means, Cheteshwar Pujara will return to the XI after eight months. And he will have to open the batting with young Rahul. With Saha out, Naman Ojha, who has been called up as the replacement keeper, is expected to make his Test debut, batting at the crucial No. 6 position.

Virat was vocal in his admiration for how Stuart Binny provided support to the two fast bowlers with his control and economy in the second Test. He will retain his place if the captain wants to stick with a seam all-rounder. If Virat opts for a batsman who can bowl spin, he has the option of Karun Nair.

Key Players

Sri Lanka Angelo Mathews has developed into a very useful cricketer over the last couple of years, leading the team from the front with bat and ball. After winning the second Test, Virat admitted that Mathews’ was the key wicket on the final day that enabled them to get over the line without any fuss. Besides providing solidity in the middle-order, the Sri Lankan captain has the knack of picking wickets with his military medium pace. He is also not afraid of operating with the new ball ahead of his genuine pacers. Mathews will certainly be the man India will want to get rid of quickly. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, need their captain to show them the way as they begin life after Sangakkara.

India

Virat Kohli has looked in silken touch for the most part of the first two Tests. A century in Galle was followed up by an attractive and confident 78 (107 balls) in the first innings in Colombo. If it wasn’t for Mathews’ stunning catch at first slip, Virat looked poised for another century. With the injury-forced changes in the lineup inevitable for the third Test, Virat will shoulder more responsibility with the bat. He rued the fact that he couldn’t get the team over the line at Galle as they collapsed in the second innings. This is a man who wants to lead from the front, and he will leave no stone unturned in doing so as he strives for his first Test series victory as India captain. Statistics

Tests at Colombo SSC

Last meeting between both sides at this ground July 26-30, 2010 Sri Lanka 642-4d & 129-3d, India 707. Match drawn. This has been a series of the spinners so far, with the spinners from both sides outperforming the pacers in their teams. Take a look: Pace vs Spin in the series

Pacers

Spinners

The spin duo of Ashwin and Mishra has outshone the spin duo of Herath and Kaushal by a long distance: Ashwin / Mishra vs Herath / Kaushal in the series

This is how Indian spinners have performed against the top-order Sri Lankan batsmen in the series so far: R Ashwin

Amit Mishra

Trivia Last time Sri Lanka lost a Test at the SSC was way back in 2004 when Australia beat them by 121 runs. Since then, Sri Lanka have won seven Tests here out of 14 with remaining seven ending in draw. Ravi Ashwin’s bowling average against the left-handers in the series has been 10.42 (12 dismissals), whereas Amit Mishra has an average of 8.70 against the right-handers (10 dismissals). No wonder, together this pair has created havoc in Sri Lankan ranks! A series win will make Virat Kohli the youngest Indian captain to win a series outside India. Squads Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne, Dushmantha Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Rangana Herath, Dimuth Karunaratne, Tharindu Kaushal, Jehan Mubarak, Dilruwan Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Kaushal Silva (wk), Upul Tharanga. India: Virat Kohli (capt), KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Karun Nair, Naman Ojha (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Stuart Binny