3rd ODI: Sri Lanka aim for 2-1 lead
July 28, 2012 | Cricket
When India beat Sri Lanka soundly in the series opener there was reason to believe they had hit their straps, albeit in familiar conditions and against a team they have regularly bossed since 2008, after a poor last year and in their current season opener.
But once the visitors were mercilessly drubbed by Sri Lanka in the second ODI, a familiar pattern of batting frailties and wafer-thin bowling has cropped up.
Going into the third match of the series at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium, it is Sri Lanka who are the buoyant side and India the team which needs to address concerns and opportunities.
Sri Lanka’s nine-wicket win was fashioned by the deceptively dangerous medium pace of Thisara Perera, an affable allrounder who has made himself almost indispensable to the set-up.
Thisara’s outstanding day started with the exceptional figures of 3-3-0-3, which ripped apart India’s top order to a point from which the visitors could not recover.
After a stellar series against Pakistan, Perera is shaping up to be India’s biggest threat at the Premadasa.
Cricinfo
