There’ll be no second thought on batting first after winning the toss.
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The visitors, now leading the series 2-0, are aiming for the first ever whitewash in the island nation.
However, Indian side will be missing the veteran all rounder Ravindra Jadeja as he has been banned for the match by ICC.
Kohli and India toiled in the last session. No runs off the remainder of the over, with the visitors going into stumps on a score of 329/6.
Hosts Sri Lanka are flirting with a series whitewash in the third Test against India, starting on Saturday, as they struggle with problems on and off the pitch which have thrown the team into turbulence.
Suresh Raina is rumoured to be in line for a recall to India’s ODI squad as selectors ponder the future of veterans MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh following their defeat in the Champions Trophy final in June.
“But you don’t know what’s going to cause you one or two or three points”. You come and say “this is Napier”, and it believes it’s Napier. However, the Lankans bounced back in the second and third while Virat Kohli & Co. struggled in the latter half of today’s game.
India this time are a little more circumspect.
“That happens. It’s not that it has happened for the first time”, he added. But I haven’t yet really gone in without looking at the wicket at least 8-10 hours before the game before this. It’s probably a different kind of situation.
The Sri Lankans, after being beaten on a batting track in the first Test and a turner in the second, have chose to revert to pace. But the day before that, we had a good practice.
Dhawan was not part of original squad and was lucky to get a double break to play the opening Test at Galle International Stadium against Sri Lanka.
Given Sri Lanka’s day on the field until then, another drop was expected but Karunaratne timed his jump accurately enough to get his palms behind the ball before completing the catch which gave the near-comatose crowd something to wake up and blow their trumpets to. For two days in the lead up to the final Test, showers were a constant feature in Kandy, so much so that the team had to cancel their routine pre-match practice session on Friday. Everyone is playing good cricket and everyone is bowling well. Pujara followed him back to the pavilion just three overs later after being caught by Angelo Mathews in the slips off Sandakan’s bowling.
“Since we have a heavy limited-overs schedule later this season, we need to play him now”. And it was mostly their own doing.
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“So we certainly don’t want to take anything lightly”.
