New wicket, new series

As R P Singh and Irfan Pathan were debating whether Ajantha Mendis would take home the gleaming silver car kept for the Man of the Series...

As RP Singh and Irfan Pathan were debating whether Ajantha Mendis would take home the gleaming silver car kept for the Man of the Series, a few steps away, Yuvraj Singh was pondering a different drive.

“This looks like English willow, but it’s actually Kashmiri willow,” he told his team mates, indicating the bat in his hand. “Once hit, the ball travels really hard.” The Indian vice-captain has been missing the trademark booming drive off the front foot. Foxed at will by Mendis in the last two games, Yuvraj is desperate to work things out. Team India are expected to make some changes in the batting order despite the victory in the second ODI in Dambulla. Gautam Gambhir is set to return to the XI and open the innings with Virat Kohli, with Pathan likely to be left out of the Sunday game as India go into the match with only four specialist bowlers.

Pragyan Ohja remains unlucky to miss out because the team management wants to go with extra fire-power in the batting department. Harbhajan Singh will be the lone spinner with Yuvraj, S Badrinath and Rohit Sharma expected to roll their arm over to fill in the vacant 10 overs.

Both new-ball bowlers Praveen Kumar and Zaheer Khan skipped the optional practice under lights on Saturday evening. Zaheer has been troubled by a niggle but is expected to be ready by the Sunday afternoon start. The two bowlers were largely responsible for India’s victory in Dambulla, but their impact in the remainder of the series may only be marginal. At the R Premadasa Stadium, it’s the beginning of a whole new series between India and Sri Lanka — three matches in six days on a flat track on which batsmen are expected to make strong statements.

Looking good

The Indian batsmen looked in good nick at the nets. Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir played only with the sweet spot of the bat, while Mahendra Singh Dhoni kept clearing three rows of the stands. There was unmistakably a deliberate attempt by the players to step out, use their feet and play big shots. Forced to drop their original attacking plan against Muralitharan and Mendis due to the loss of early wickets in Dambulla, the setting is almost perfect now for Team India in Colombo.

Sharp intermittent showers are forecast for Sunday, but there is little threat that the 40,000-strong capacity crowd will have to witness a washout because of good drainage and drying facilities.

The toss is considered to be crucial at this venue, where it’s been a good idea to bat first as chasing teams have often come close but not managed to win. The hosts are still undecided about playing Chaminda Vaas, who missed the last match due to a hamstring injury.

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Sri Lanka look set to play six batsmen and five bowlers, with the only likely change other than the possible inclusion of Vaas being Chamara Silva making way for Jehan Mubarak in the middle order.