Having outplayed the visitors thoroughly, India will be eager to deepen their stamp of domination over Sri Lanka and finish the seven-match rubber on a rousing note in the final one-day international in Baroda on Saturday.
Arjuna Ranatunga: India attacking at all costs
Everything has gone well for the home team, including the experimentation of resting some key players and asking rookies to stand up and be counted, while almost nothing has clicked for the islanders who would be equally anxious to prevent another drubbing at India's hands before returning home.
India will go into the last clash with a commanding 5-1 lead in the series.
A victory on Saturday will be the ideal boost for the hosts before the five-match series against South Africa commencing on November 16.
The high point of the series for India has been the way the youngsters in the team have come up to the fore with standout performances when needed.
Coach Greg Chappell had been talking of waking up the players from their 'comfort zone' since he took over as coach five months ago and this seems to have been achieved in a spectacular fashion.
The IPCL ground in Baroda is among Sachin Tendulkar's favourites. The 32-year-old champion batsman has struck two glorious hundreds for winning causes at this venue, a knock of 115 against New Zealand in 1994-95 and a stroke-filled 122 off 135 balls against South Africa in 1999-2000. Another big one from the maestro might just become the icing on the cake of triumph for India in the series.
It would also be a big occasion for 21-year-old left arm speedster Irfan Pathan as it would be his maiden ODI appearance at his hometown after having played 43 matches for India.
Skipper Rahul Dravid, who was rested for the previous game, has led the Indian charge brilliantly from the front with the bat as well as with his aggressive captaincy. He would want to finish off what he started commendably, when India wrapped up the series with a 4-0 lead at Pune, with another thumping success here.
Most of the home team batsmen have clicked, including Yuvraj Singh at Rajkot, but a big innings has eluded the punitive blade of Virender Sehwag who has got the starts without making a single half-century.
The Indian pace bowlers have also done well considering the conditions in which they have been asked to perform, while off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has rediscovered his penetrative skills under the tutelage of Chappell, whom he had slammed in a public outburst in the aftermath of the Chappell-Ganguly spat.
The Lankans would be hoping fervently that their most successful batsman Sanath Jayasuriya gets into the groove, if chosen for the match. Jayasuriya's performance in the series has been nothing less than disappointing after suffering a freak shoulder injury while playing water polo back home during the squad's conditioning camp for the tour.
After being the scourge of the Indian bowlers in previous encounters between the two teams, the left handed marauder from Matara has tallied a paltry 85 runs from six innings in the current rubber with 27 as his highest. His failure with the bat, and inability to bowl his effective slow left arm stuff on spin-friendly surfaces because of his shoulder injury, has cost Sri Lanka dear.
The failure of Jayasuriya and to an extent captain Marvan Atapattu has placed an enormous burden on Kumar Sangakkara who seems to have been weighed down by the extra load after starting the series on a positive note.
The Lankan pace bowlers, including the vastly experienced and proven match-winner Chaminda Vaas, have not been able to bowl the right length to the Indian batsmen and have been mercilessly caned. This too has been a major reason for the poor run by the islanders in the series.
The ground traditionally helps the batsmen, as was shown when West Indian openers Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds waded into the Indian attack with gusto in the 2002 series to help the Caribbeans run up a huge total of 291 for 5 which the home team almost achieved.
Pitch curator Vasudev Patel has promised a batsman's paradise after some early help to the new ball bowlers because of the presence of some early morning moisture at this time of the year.
It is quite likely that the team that wins the toss may opt to field first as was the case in Rajkot when stand-in skipper Virender Sehwag opted to chase the target on winning the spin of the coin.
Teams (from):
India: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag (vice- captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mohd Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Murali Kartik, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Jai Prakash Yadav, Gautam Gambhir and S Sreesanth.
Sri Lanka: Marvan Atapattu (captain), Mahela Jayawardene (vice-captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Nuwan Zoysa, Dilhara Fernando, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Upul Tharanga and Thilan Samaraweera.
Umpires: Mark Benson (Eng) and K Hariharan (Ind).
3rd umpire: A V Jayaprakash (Ind)
Reserve umpire: T K Handu (Ind).
Match referee: Alan Hurst (Aus).
© 2024 Rediff.com -