IND vs SL third ODI: A pleasant dilemma for India

With series in the bag, the Indian team management may consider experimenting.

Krishnappa Gowtham during a training session at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Thursday.

India coach Rahul Dravid will have to choose between experimenting and continuing with the winning combination, in his bid for a clean sweep, against Sri Lanka in the third and final One-Day International here on Friday.

Up 2-0 in the series, it remains to be seen whether India decides to try out Devdutt Padikkal or Ruturaj Gaikwad — both superb List-A players — at the top.

Another dilemma for the team management would be whether to persist with the aggressive Ishan Kishan or give Sanju Samson the opportunity to make his ODI debut.

Manish Pandey and Suryakumar Yadav are certain to keep their places, so are Hardik Pandya and his brother Krunal.

READ: Sri Lanka skipper Shanaka says on-field spat was about tactics

In the bowling department, Navdeep Saini and Chetan Sakariya have to make their case against last game’s hero Deepak Chahar.

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal did pretty well in the first two games, but with the likes of off-spinner K. Gowtham and Rahul Chahar, waiting in the wings, it will be a difficult call to take.

For Sri Lanka, opener Avishka Fernando has been among the runs, but needs support.

Also, skipper Dasun Shanaka, Minod Bhanuka and Dhananjaya de Silva are due a good outing.

The form of leggie Wanindu Hasaranga, who picked up three wickets in the last match, would also be crucial.

The Teams (from) India: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, K. Gowtham, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Chetan Sakariya and Navdeep Saini. Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Dhananjaya de Silva, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ashen Bandara, Minod Bhanuka, Lahiru Udara, Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Lakshan Sandakan, Akila Dhananjaya, Shiran Fernando, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Ishan Jayaratne, Praveen Jayawickrema, Asitha Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara and Isuru Udana. Match starts at 3 p.m. IST.