Hyderabad, Nov 8 (PTI) Having taken a comfortable 2-0 lead, a confident India will look to seal the five-match series against Sri Lanka when they lock horns in the third cricket one-dayer here tomorrow.
Virat Kohli and company have not made the fans feel the absence of regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was rested for the first three ODIs, as the Men in Blue have outplayed the Islanders in the first two matches with clinical performances.
If openers Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan made the Sri Lankan bowlers look ordinary in Cuttack then the Indian batting line-up, led by Ambati Rayudu, once again showed their might at Motera.
India posted a mammoth 363 to win the opening game by a 169-run margin and then achieved their 275-run target with more than five overs to spare in the next match.
All the three centurions – Rahane, Dhawan and Rayudu, have literally toyed with the Lankan bowling, who are struggling on batting friendly pitches.
The track at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal also looks no different and a score of 300 plus is once again in the offing, with the stadium having a history of big run chases.
The Indian bowling also stood the test against an experienced Sri Lankan batting with Ishant Sharma bagging four wickets in the first ODI and spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel making it count in the second.
With young Axar Patel making his presence felt with impressive figures of 2-39 in his 10-over spell at Sardar Patel Stadium, Kohli is unlikely to tinker with the winning combination and will certainly look to shut the Lankans out in the third game itself.
The hosts would always be wary of a counter-attack from a dangerous Lankan outfit, which has the knack of surprising its opposition time and again.
