India vs. Sri Lanka 3rd ODI: Date, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview
India and Sri Lanka meet for the third one-day international of the series on Sunday, with the home side carrying a comfortable 2-0 lead.
Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
Commences: Sunday, Nov. 9
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Start time: 8 a.m. GMT (1:30 p.m. local)
Live on: Star Sports (India), CSN Network (Sri Lanka), Orbit Show Network (Middle East), Ten Sports (Caribbean), Sky Sports (New Zealand), Geo Super and PTV Sports (Pakistan), SuperSport (South Africa), Sky Sports (United Kingdom), Willow TV (USA), Fox Sports (Australia).
Weather: The Weather Channel is forecasting a hot but cloudy day with the top temperature reaching 31 degrees Celsius.
Overview
Rushed in as replacements for the troubled West Indies, Sri Lanka have arrived in India unprepared, out of sorts and up against a rampant home side.
In two games thus far, the visitors have barely drawn the hosts' attention. They have been swatted away like flies over a barbecue as India's batting dominance in Asia has continued.
A colossal 169-run victory in the series opener was followed by an equally commanding six-wicket win on Thursday, with Ambati Rayudu becoming the third Indian batsmen to crack three figures in the series as he steered Virat Kohli's men home with more than five overs to spare.
It was India's 27th successful ODI chase in their last 32 on Asian soil.
For Sri Lanka, the issue is simple: They need more runs.
As Australia made evident when touring here roughly a year ago, 300 probably represents a par score only when playing this Indian team in their home surrounds. A total of 350 is exceptional, but that too might not be enough.
But it's certainly preferable over Sri Lanka's scores of 194 and 274 thus far.
The question is whether Sri Lanka have the batting power to push India in this series. The burden still feels as though it's carried by too few, with Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews the only members of the touring party who look capable of changing the script.
In contrast, India, even without MS Dhoni, can turn to any one of their top six and know destruction is the likely outcome.
Such a predicament feels inescapable for Sri Lanka right now.
Squads
India
Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, Varun Aaron, Akshar Patel, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Amit Mishra
Sri Lanka
Angelo Mathews (c), Kusal Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Ashan Priyanjan, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dhammika Prasad, Lahiru Gamage, Chaturanga de Silva, Seekkuge Prasanna, Suraj Randiv
Key Players
India
At the top of the Indian order, it's been Shikhar Dhawan who's set the pace for the hosts' pair of innings, clubbing 113 in the series opener before cruising to 79 in Thursday's second encounter.
So often in 50-over cricket when playing at home recently, India's openers have enjoyed flying starts, allowing the middle-order, led by Kohli, to wreak havoc from the strong platform.
Appearing decidedly more comfortable since returning from a difficult tour of England, Dhawan stands as a key figure for Sunday's third ODI, and if he fires again, the home side will be out of sight once more.
Sri Lanka
In contrast to Dhawan, Tillakaratne Dilshan has been unable to capitalise on some promising starts in this series, falling for 18 and 35 in the two games thus far.
For Sri Lanka to post a competitive total on Sunday, the veteran right-hander needs to propel the visitors to a strong opening and reduce the magnitude of the task facing Sangakkara, Jayawardene and Mathews in the middle order.
Unpredictable and unorthodox, Dilshan has the capacity to place scoreboard pressure on India, and he must do so if his team hopes to avoid a series defeat.
Prediction
With some match practice now behind them, Sri Lanka should be able to make a much better contest of Sunday's third ODI in Hyderabad.
But one feels this irrepressible Indian batting unit is too much for the current Sri Lankan attack, and it will power the hosts to a third straight victory and a series triumph on Sunday.
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