Daijiworld Media Network
Colombo, Jul 31: Welcome to the 4th ODI between Sri Lanka and India. The visitors have had a good run against the hosts in recent times and will look to wrap up the series today. On the other hand, the hosts would ideally love to take the series to a decider. Sri Lanka were delivered a cruel blow as Kumar Sangakkara was ruled out of the remainder of the series after suffering a fracture on his little finger. Will the hosts manage to put up a fight in the absence of their stellar batsman?
Sri Lanka have won the toss and elected to bat.
Dhoni: I think it will be tough for the fast bowlers because it is hot and humid. Death bowling has been an issue for the last few years. We have been strugging in the last ten overs, we have performed well in that area sometimes but we haven't been consistent. Manoj Tiwary comes in for Rahul Sharma.
Mahela: We are going to bat first, we still feel like we need to get some runs up on the board as chasing without Kumar will be hard. We have been playing a lot of cricket but recently we have been playing well so we just need to focus on doing the right things. Even when you play so many games you are looking for those little challenges to push you through and every game provides those challenges. Thirimanne replaces Sangakkara.
Pitch report: The deck looks similar to the one that was used in the previous game, if anything it just looks a little drier. The wicket is pretty flat and there doesn't seem to be much in it for the bowlers. Win the toss and bat first says Arun Lal, no mention of the birds yet from him but we shall keep you updated on that front as well.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Manoj Tiwary, Irfan Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Ashok Dinda.
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal(w), Mahela Jayawardene(c), Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Pradeep, Lasith Malinga.