India and Sri Lanka will clash in dead-rubber game on Tuesday
The two continental giants India and Sri Lanka got a comfortable berth in the final of 10th Asia Cup with a game in hand. Before facing each other in Thursday’s final, both sides will test each other’s nerves in the last game of the qualifying round of Asia Cup at the Rangiri International Stadium on Tuesday.
Kumar Sangakkara’s side is a fit and fighting team while the men in blue have been weighed down by injuries to their key players.
Virender Sehwag - struggling with a pulled hamstring – has been replaced with Dinesh Karthik but Saurabh Tiwary, a Jharkhand batsman, can expect his ODI debut in tomorrow’s inconsequential match.
On the bowling side, left-arm seamer, Ashish Nehra although has recovered from back spasms however it is doubtful that the India’s pace attacker will make the last qualifying match.
With Nehra sitting outside, India Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni can bring in any of the alternative bowlers including left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, medium pacer Ashok Dinda, or the off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. All the off-break bowlers have been quite successful at Dambulla track.
When it comes to the batting side of India, opener Gautam Gambhir has so far been pretty successful in the quadrangular series with successive 82 and 83 runs against Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively. The skipper himself is thumping the ball well; same is the case of Suresh Raina, who added a significant 34 in the last over victory against Pakistan. Yet Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have not proven their prowess in the continental event.
Although nothing will be at stake on Tuesday, spinner Harbhajan Singh, India's most successful bowler in Sri Lanka said that his team would step in the ground with a serious approach.
“This is an important game for us. We don’t take any game lightly. Obviously, if we win the match, we can go to the final with a better frame of mind,” said Harbhajan.
India booked a place in the final with nail-biting victory against Pakistan to following-up their win against Bengali Tigers in their opener of the tournament. Indian side needs to improve a lot if they are to confront the Lankans in their home ground. The pacers particularly have not been able threat any team so far in the tournament. Gautam Gambhir has led the batting line of India with match-winning shots in both matches but the barring MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina have not yet shown their 100%.
The Lankans thwarted both Bangladesh and Pakistan, although Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi tried best to take his side close to victory, but even his tumultuous hundred off 76 balls was not good enough. They have had a remarkable run in the quadrangular tournament; defeating Green shirts by 16 runs and crushing Bengali Tigers by a big margin of 126 runs.
Five of Lankan’s top order batsmen have chalked a half-century each in the continental cup and that will make them feel extremely confident of making a hat-trick of Asia Cup titles.
Tillakaratane Dilshan has been leading the batting line with great starts and Sri Lanka will expect him to persist that. His opening partner, Upul Tharanga, is a man who loves watching Dilshan in action from the non-striker's end, hence allowing Dilshan to take charge.
The bowling squad of Lankan’s is perhaps better than India’s, with Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, and fast bowler Chanaka Welegedara who have already made their mark in the event.
Lankan’s have clinched both the victories batting first, and it would not be a surprise if on Tuesday they choose to bat in the lights after winning the toss. It would help them get an idea of the conditions they can face if they lose the final toss.
If we look at the recent clashes of the continental giants, both sides played each other twice in the tri-nation series in Zimbabwe and picked up a win each. Looking at overall form, Lankan’s seem to be the clear favourites enjoying their home crowd and field advantage.
The hosts will definitely not take the men in blue lightly as they have few match-winning players can single-handedly grab a win for their team.
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