India will play Sri Lanka in the fifth league game of the tri-series. So far, Sri Lanka has won all their three games that they have played in whereas India has won one and lost one. Bangladesh has lost all three and will face India in their last game on Monday.

A win here for Sri Lanka will make no difference for them as they have already qualified for the finals. But that will mean that the final league game between India and Bangladesh becomes a virtual semi-final. In that case, if India lose to Bangladesh, the net run rate situation may come into the picture.

The Sri Lankans have been batting extremely well despite having missed Tillakaratne Dilshan in the last two games. Mahela Jayawardene opened the innings in the previous game, and but it remains to be seen whether he will be asked to do the same given that the Lankans already have a regular opener in Lahiru Thirimanne languishing down the order. The other way of looking at it is that the middle looks choc-a-bloc currently for the Lankans with the presence of Kumar Sangakkara, Thilan Samaraweera and Thilina Kandamby and so it could make sense to promote Jayawardene up the order.

The Sri Lankan bowling has looked good so far as well. They have been able to pull back the Indian scoring rate in the previous game the two sides played apart from restricting the Bangladeshis to the same. In Suraj Randiv and Suranga Lakmal, the Lankans seem to have discovered a couple of really excellent youngsters, both of whom can both, bowl economically and pick up wickets at regular intervals.

For the Indians, this will be another game to prove that their bowling and fielding are two aspects of the game that need much looking at. This will also mean that the bowling could see a change or two in it. With Zaheer Khan struggling to recapture his form, and Ashish Nehra beginning to look a tad ragged, it could make sense to bring in Sudeep Tyagi in place of one of the two. The spinners could remain the same for this game but a win here could see Harbhajan Singh being rested for the last match and Amit Mishra being drafted in to the squad.

The batting continues to remain the dominant factor for the Indians. However, for some reason the openers have failed to get going as an opening partnership. And that is the one aspect of batting which will be bothering the captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The over-reliance on Dhoni to deliver the goods is fast becoming a norm!

Tag :- India   Mahendra Singh Dhoni   Sri Lanka   Sudeep Tyagi   Suranga Lakmal   Thilina Kandamby   Tillakaratne Dilshan