Sri Lanka and India do battle one last time in the longest format of the game this week when they meet in the third and final Test in Pallekele which begins on Saturday. India have already won the series and will be eyeing up a clean sweep while Sri Lanka will look for some momentum or confidence to take into the limited overs matches which follow.
Sri Lanka
If we are being honest Sri Lanka have been grossly outclassed in this series and they will do mighty well not to be outclassed again unless they are fortunate enough that India take their foot off the gas which makes for a competitive game of cricket. They might be disappointed if they are relying on that though.
They home side can suggest, with some justification that injuries have not helped their cause, and of course they would be right with that, but the margins they have lost by in the two matches suggest they may well have lost even if they were at full strength which has to be a concern given their good home form.
India
The Indians arrived in Sri Lanka with an impressive recent record in Test matches and they have more than kept that up over the course of the two matches. What has been most impressive is that the wickets in both matches thus far have been completely different but India have looked fantastic in each game.
That is a sign of a good side when they can perform to their best in a wide number of conditions and it makes you wonder just how far this side can go as a unit. They look incredibly strong with the bat and with the ball they have the options to get the job done so they will be confident of a win here.
Team News
Sri Lanka are going to be without Rangana Herath for this match which is a huge blow for them. They will choose between Dushmantha Chameera or Lakshan Sandakan for the final spot in their attack.
India will have to make a change for this match with Ravindra Jadeja suspended. Kuldeep Yadav is the obvious replacement for him and then any other changes they make will merely be resting players.
Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
This will be just the sixth Test match on this ground. Three of the previous five here have been drawn with the ground right in the heart of rain country. Sri Lanka have won one and lost one of the other two. India will be playing here for the first time.
This is generally a low scoring ground which highlights that the wicket is one where the bowlers can enjoy themselves in the lush conditions. That might not be the best thing for the home side either though.
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Betting
I am already on India to win this match having taken them to win the series 3-0 so I am not going to do anything in terms of the match outcome so I will go with one bet in the side markets.
Paddy Power have priced up a first innings match bet between Dilruwan Perera and Kuldeep Yadav to see who will take the most wickets and I like Yadav in that. He has been bowling really well in Indian colours for a while now and is likely to see plenty of overs given that this is his first match of the series.
That may not be the case for Perera and even if he does he has offered little in the way of wicket taking so far in the series. It might be that there aren’t that many wickets for him to take so I’ve got to think Yadav will win that match.
Tips
WON – Back K.Yadav to beat D.Perera (1st inns wickets) for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Paddy Power
Back him here:
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