Indian spin wizard Harbhajan Singh took Tillakaratne Dilshan’s
wicket as he edged one to wicket keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. With this
Harbhajan Singh broke a strong partnership of 89 runs between Dilshan and Russell Arnold. Meanwhile, Dilshan made a credible 42 runs off 54 balls. Sri Lanka
is now six wickets down. 
Munaf Patel registered a wicket after Zaheer’s
run over on the Sri Lankan top order. Sachin Tendulkar took a dying catch
to dismiss the in form Marvan Atapattu. Atapattu made 42 runs from 62
balls.
Next one to go was Sri Lankan captain Mahila Jayawardene.
Jayawardene fell to a quicker ball from Harbhajan Singh which went to hit his
pads. Though the impact was outside the off stump but Simon Taufel raised his
finger. Jayawardene made 30 runs from 58 balls.
Indian pacer Zaheer khan sent shock waves across the Sri Lankan
camp as he uprooted three Sri Lankan wickets. Last ODI charmer Kumar Sangakkara
was bowled by Zaheer Khan as the ball kept a little low and nipped back in only
to take the bottom edge from Sangakkara’s bat to hit on his stumps. Sangakkara
departed on duck.
The first one to go was Sanath Jayasuriya. He was the victim
of some brilliant catching display by the Sourav Ganguly. Jayasuriya made 2
runs off 7 deliveries.
The next one to go was Upul Tharanga as Zaheer’s delivery
nipped back on to his pads. Tharanga could not do much and was declared out
leg before the wicket. He made 1 run from 9 balls.
Sri Lankan captain Mahila Jayawardene won the toss and elected
to bat first in the third ODI against India at Margao in Goa on Wednesday. Sri
Lanka has taken a 1-0 lead with its five-run win over India in Rajkot. The first
match in Kolkata of the four-match series was abandoned due to rains.
Now, the two teams are expected to either rest their tired
players or play their preferred XIs in order to provide them as much match practice
as possible before the World Cup starts March 11 in the West Indies.
The Indian team batted well in Sunday`s match but failed to
`finish` off the match - an aspect that has cost them dear several times in
the past, and which skipper Rahul Dravid pointed to after the World Cup team
selection in Mumbai Monday. He said he would like to see players finishing off
matches.
From the point of view of the Indian fans, however, there will
still remain a major interest in Wednesday`s match: Virender Sehwag.
The swashbuckling batsman, who closely survived the axe for
the World Cup, has not been in form for some time now. He will be keen to score
some runs before the 16-nation tournament gets started and get rid of the mounting
pressure.
The Delhi batsman remains the only player in the Indian team
who is yet to hit top form. Even lanky fast bowler Munaf Patel, who had question
marks regarding his fitness, came back into wicket-taking mode in Rajkot.
What left several baffled was that Kumble, who gave away the
second most number of runs in Rajkot has not been included in the team. He is
apparently out due to personal reasons. Not playing in a game at such a crucial
stage, when the World Cup is less than a month away and one still has a point
to prove is a mistake that can cost the team much.
Also, Pathan is not going to be a part of the playing eleven
due to injury problems, which has kept him away for a while. It may raise a
few eyebrows that Pathan has been included in the World Cup squad even though
he is not match fit. Teams for the third ODI:
India: Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar (vice-captain),
Robin Uthappa, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh
Kartik (wicket-keepers), Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel,
Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara (wicket-keeper),
Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Marvan Atapattu, Russel Arnold, Tillakaratne
Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Malinga Bandara, Upul Chandana, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith
Malinga, Nuwan Zoysa, Dilhara Fernando and Nuwan Kulasekara
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