India vs. Sri Lanka 5th ODI: Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

The current ODI series between India and Sri Lanka has been as one-sided as it gets with the hosts handing out drubbing after drubbing to a visiting side who just aren't at the races.

Things reached a head at Kolkata where a Rohit Sharma-inspired India clocked up a staggering total of 404 to win by 153 runs.

What chance do Angelo Mathews' men have of salvaging some pride in Ranchi, or is a whitewash for Virat Kohli's troops the inevitable result?

Venue: JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi, India

Date: Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014

Start time: 1:30 p.m. local time, 8 a.m. GMT

Weather: According to bbc.co.uk, the weather should be perfect for cricket with uninterrupted sun forecast and temperatures reaching 27 degrees Centigrade.

Live stream/TV Info: Sky Sports 2 (UK), Fox Sports (Australia), 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), Willow TV (USA).

Preview

The successful summer tour of England must seem light years away for the Sri Lankans right now as their nightmarish trip to India goes from bad to worse.

Clearly, in terms of winning, the series has long gone with four comprehensive losses, meaning they are purely playing for pride.

But this week, the legendary Sanath Jayasuriya, the country's chief selector, publicly criticised Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene for their public comments regarding team issues.

Having only agreed to participate in the series at the last minute when the West Indies dramatically upped sticks and went home, the Sri Lankan big cheeses must be wondering if it was worth it.

The sheer one-sidedness of the contests can be summed up by the runs and wickets count. India have scored 1,287 runs and taken 38 wickets, contrasted to Sri Lanka's haul of just 961 runs and 18 wickets. In fact, the top five bowlers, in terms of wicket taking, all play for the hosts.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

Only Angelo Mathews has emerged with any credit, scoring 200 runs in the series, but he will be worried about his sides' confidence levels ahead of the World Cup. And to make matters worse, Sangakkara has been sent home to rest.

Conversely, the only Indian player currently not on cloud nine is probably MS Dhoni. The normally inspirational skipper has had to look on from the sidelines as his colleagues have run riot.

Some of the batsmen who looked like broken men in August when Alastair Cook’s England were grinding them into the dirt have once again become world beaters.

Shikhar Dhawan tops the runscoring charts with 283 runs from just three innings while Rohit Sharma…well, what can you say about that innings (see below).

Additionally, keeping the opposition under such intense pressure has allowed the likes of Umesh Yadav and Akshar Patel to collect some cheap wickets, and there should be more available at Rangi.

The Indians are heating up nicely ahead of the World Cup.

Historically, these old foes have met an incredible 148 times since Sri Lanka’s inception into the top tier of World cricket with India coming out on top 82 occasions.

Squads

India (from): Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, Stuart Binny, 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 (from): Angelo Mathews (c), Kusal Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Ashan Priyanjan, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dhammika Prasad, Lahiru Gamage, Chaturanga de Silva, Seekkuge Prasanna, Suraj Randiv

Players to Watch

India

To put Rohit Sharma’s innings into context, he shattered the existing ODI highest individual score record, held by Virender Sehwag, by 45 runs and scored 65.3 per cent of his team's runs. Rest assured, all eyes, including safety conscious spectators, will be on the 27-year-old at Rangi to see if he can do more damage.

Sri Lanka

Angelo Mathews continues to grow and grow as a cricketer, and the added burden of captaincy has only increased his propensity to lead from the front. Perhaps his bowling, military medium pace at best, means he won’t be considered in the true all-rounders bracket, but his batting alone makes him a class act.

Prediction

The result of a one-off ODI clash, between two fairly evenly matched teams can often be decided by small margins, but the struggling Sri Lankans are trying to hold back the might of the Ganges with a couple of sandbags here. Only a brave man would bet against the Indians completing the whitewash.