A rampaging India will fancy its chances of completing a 5-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka when it faces the beleaguered host in the fifth and final One-day International match here tomorrow.
The visiting team has already swept the Test series 3-0, and given its dominant run on this trip, it would like to sweep the ODI series as well.
Sri Lanka is in danger of losing a second successive ODI series to India by a 5-0 margin. The last time these two sides played a bilateral series in November 2014, a depleted Lankan side lost 5-0 in India.
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The team’s fortunes haven't changed much since and another loss would be a serious body blow for the host in what has been a traumatic summer of cricket. It has already foregone the opportunity to automatically qualify for the 2019 ODI World Cup by failing to win two matches in this series.
That 5-0 win in 2014-15 was India's last ODI series whitewash. Since then it has beaten Zimbabwe 3-0 twice, and handed a 5-0 battering in 2013.
Considering sterner opposition, India previously beat New Zealand and England 5-0 in 2010-11 and 2012-13 respectively, both series' wins coming at home.
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In fact, England is the only side to lose 5-0 twice to India (in 2008-09 as well) in the last decade, and the Men in Blue will be eager to add another entry to this short list.
Given the heat and humidity here, and the exertions of what has been a long if not arduous tour, the Indian team enjoyed an additional day off ahead of the fifth ODI.
There are no injury concerns and the same playing combination can expect to be retained tomorrow, with the likes of Manish Pandey, Kuldeep Yadav and Shardul Thakur given a further opportunity to impress.
Additionally, coach Ravi Shastri had spoken yesterday about the need to carefully manage workloads of bowlers across formats. It remains to be seen if Hardik Pandya will be given a break in this light, and Kedar Jadhav afforded another chance to impress, ahead of a long limited-overs' schedule at home.
In light of the team's experimentation and rotation policy, Ajinkya Rahane is the only batsman not to get game time in this series. With Rohit Sharma coming back and scoring runs, and Shikhar Dhawan in good form, the team management has so far not toyed with the opening combination.
But Dhawan has left for India to attend to his ailing mother, who “is stable and recovering well at the moment,” according to a Board communique. So Rahane may get a look-in.
Spotlight will be on K.L. Rahul who was given a middle-order role in the current ODI series, specifically keeping the preparation for the next World Cup in mind. So far that experiment hasn't worked with Rahul returning scores of 4, 17 and 7 in his three outings.
Oddly enough, Rahul has fallen to Akila Dananjay in all three matches. While it will be a matter of concern for the team management, they will also want to afford him further opportunities to strengthen the case for a middle-order berth. Manish Pandey's half-century in the fourth ODI gives the team additional leeway in this regard.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is expected to make at least one chance to its playing XI. Skipper Upul Tharanga will be back in charge of affairs after sitting out the last two games owing to his suspension for slow-over rate. He is expected to slot into the middle order once again and Lahiru Thirimanne might be asked to open the innings instead.
It remains to be seen if the Lankan captain can inspire a serious challenge in this fifth ODI after a lacklustre summer.
Most of all though, after two suspensions in three months, Tharanga will be looking to complete the 50 overs within the stipulated time.
- India: Virat Kohli (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane, Kedar Jadhav, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur.
- Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga (capt), Lasith Malinga, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dilshan Munaweera, Lahiru Thirimanna, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana, Malinda Pushpakumara, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan, Thisara Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando.
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