India will take on Sri Lanka in the third test match of the series at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. This is the first ever game that will be held on this ground after almost 35 years, and with the series poised at 1-0 in favour of the Indians, it looks like it could be a venue for a very exciting game of cricket.

India had beaten Sri Lanka rather convincingly on a track at Kanpur that had that little something for the bowlers; unlike the one at Motera in Ahmedabad which was as dead as a dodo. That could repeat at the Brabourne given that the soil used here would be the same as the one in nearby Wankhede and that could mean a spinner friendly track with help for the pace bowlers in the first two or three sessions of the game.

Team India will be without Gautam Gambhir for the third test match as he has opted out of the series because of his sister's marriage. That will be a big blow to the Indians as he has had an amazing time at the top of the order with four successive centuries in as many test matches this year. His place should be taken by Tamil Nadu's Murali Vijay, who has played one test match only so far - again having replaced Gambhir in the Nagpur test match of the last year when he had been banned by the ICC for shoulder-charging Shane Watson.

Apart from that, the Indians should not go into the game with any changes. Virender Sehwag will continue opening the batting, whereas Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni will form a very strong middle order. Yuvraj Singh has had a couple of good starts - and half centuries - but he hasn't been able to convert them into a century. He will look to getting a chance to bat early in the order and getting a big one.

S. Sreesanth stunned everyone, and moreso Sri Lanka with his ability to get wickets almost at will, as he swung the ball around. He should be a certainty in the side, whereas Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha continue getting the wickets at the other end.

Sri Lanka will probably discard one of their spinners away, and in all probabilities, it will be Ajantha Mendis. Muthiah Muralitharan has been out of form but Sangakkara has already thrown his weight behind his premier bowler, whereas Ranagana Herath had an excellent match with his five wicket haul. It remains to be seen whether that helps the Sri Lankans notch up their first ever win in the country in the five day format.

Tag :- Gautam Gambhir   Harbhajan Singh   Muthiah Muralitharan   Ranagana Herath   Shane Watson   Sri Lanka   Virender Sehwag   Yuvraj Singh