The fifth and the final ODI between India and Sri Lanka will be played at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. However, with the series having already been decided, the game will be rendered for almost academic purposes only; India leading 3-1 in the series with one to play.

Despite having already won the series, India will want to end the tour on a high. They had lost MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh for various reasons in this series, and yet, the rest of the batsmen performed well enough to win the series even before the final game. The side will now be bolstered by the inclusion of Dhoni, who would have served his ban for the slow over-rate and should take over the gloves from Dinesh Karthik.

Apart from that, India may look to give chances to some of the younger players like Sudeep Tyagi. Tyagi was supposed to play in the seventh and the final ODI at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai against the Aussies but the match was rained off and that meant that his ODI debut was put off. One gets the sense that he should be making his debut at Delhi. Pragyan Ojha could also get a chance in place of Harbhajan Singh, as would the Praveen Kumar in place of the beleaguered and consistently bashed around Ishant Sharma.

India will also be wary of batting first if they did win the toss at Delhi. It is a day game, and as was the case in Guwahati, batting first could be that much more difficult than batting second; especially given that it is a 9am start and hence there would be enough moisture on the wicket to test the batsmen.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka will look to pull one back and go back to their country on a high. They have another tri-series following this one against India and Bangladesh, and would love to take the confidence into that series. And there could be some changes in their side as well; what with the likes of Thilan Samaraweera and Thilina Kandamby having not yet got a decent hit up the order. Mahela Jayawardene could be afforded a rest, whereas Sanath Jayasuriya could be given one more chance at number three.

Just when one thought that the Indians had solved the Dilshan puzzle, they may have another problem in their plate; Upul Tharanga. Tharanga has been in the form of his life and could be in line for the man of the series award if he gets going with another knock to his name. It is the rather fragile bowling line-up that will worry the Lankan captain and he could do well with getting an extra bowler in the line-up.

Tag :- Dinesh Karthik   India   Mahela Jayawardene   Praveen Kumar   Sri Lanka   Upul Tharanga   Yuvraj Singh