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Teams switch on to Twenty20 mode
Cricinfo staff
February 9, 2009
Match facts
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Start time 19:00 local, (13:30 GMT)
Tillakaratne Dilshan will lead Sri Lanka under lights © AFP
The Big Picture
It's the first Twenty20 international in Sri Lanka. India overwhelmed the home side in the five-match ODI series and are again favourites for the Twenty20 game. India are winners of the ICC World Twenty20 and Sri Lanka are without several key players, but the format gives the underdogs an outside chance to spring a surprise. More than the result, however, this match allows Sri Lanka to try out a few players. The return of Lasith Malinga is undoubtedly the high point and Dilhara Lokuhettige, reputed to be a Twenty20 specialist, should get a chance to show his skills.
For India, it's a nice way to round up a successful tour. Everyone in the squad has got at least one game in the ODI series and it could be just a fun night in the park for the Indians.
Twenty20 form guide (most recent first)
India LWWWW
Sri Lanka WWLWL
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Dilhara Lokuhettige You can't be a bad Twenty20 player when your favourite cricketing stroke is the lofted drive. In 2007, he was a big hit in the Hong Kong sixes and increased his reputation in the inaugural Twenty20 provincial tournament in 2008. Lokuhettige is a low order batsman who can be a more than useful seam-up bowler.
Virender Sehwag Yuvraj Singh is the easy pick for this slot. However, Sehwag, who has failed in his last two ODIs, will seek to finish the tour on a high. He averages 21.50 from nine games, with a highest of 68.
Teams
India are likely to bring in Zaheer Khan for L Balaji. Sachin Tendulkar has already returned to India and Ravindra Jadeja, who made an immediate impression on ODI debut, should get a spot tomorrow.
India: (likely) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Yuvraj Singh 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt/wk),6 Yusuf Pathan 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Rohit Sharma Pathan, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Praveen Kumar 11 Ishant Sharma 12 Irfan Pathan.
Dilshan is slated to keep for Sri Lanka, even though 35-year-old Indika de Saram, a wicketkeeper-batsman who played a few games for Sri Lanka between 1999 and 2001, is in the squad. Mahela Udawatte, Malinga Bandara and Jeevantha Kulatunga are not likely to play.
Sri Lanka: (likely): 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt/wk), 3 Chamara Silva, 4 Chamara Kapugedera, 5 Jehan Mubarak, 6 Farveez Maharoof, 7 Dilhara Lokuhettige 8 Kaushalya Weeraratne, 9 Thilan Thushara, 10 Dilhara Fernando, 11 Lasith Malinga.
Pitch and conditions
The pitch is expected to be the same as the one from the ODI games.
Stats & Trivia
* Dilshan averages 17 in 11 games but it increases to 22 when he has played as a 'keeper-batsman.
* Ishant Sharma has played just one Twenty20 game. It was India's last Twenty20 game that was played against Australia in February 2008.

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Match facts
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Start time 10:00 local, (04:30 GMT)
Sanath Jayasuriya has been kept quiet after his century in the series opener. Will he step up to prevent a whitewash? © AFP
The Big Picture
It's been a demoralising series for Sri Lanka, but they need to pick themselves up for Sunday's final game to avoid their first-ever whitewash in a five-match contest. Mahela Jayawardene hasn't been able to do much to arrest the slide. He tinkered with the bowling combination in the previous two games but Sri Lanka still leaked in excess of 300 in both matches. His hands have been tied as far as the batting line-up is concerned - the four senior batsmen and the promising Thilina Kandamby being undroppable, leaving little room for personnel changes.
Winning the toss could be one way he can help - the spinners have had plenty of assistance when they bowl second at the Premadasa but Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis haven't had the chance to bowl under lights.
India are on their longest winning streak in one-day internationals but have to watch out for complacency. One motivation for them is that if Australia beat New Zealand on Sunday, and India lose, they will slip back to No. 3 in the rankings.
ODI form guide (most recent first)
Sri Lanka LLLLW
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Sanath Jayasuriya has enjoyed some success against India at the Premadasa Stadium, and the fact that he has only scored 44 from three innings after his century in game one suggests he is due for some runs. If he survives the early overs, the Indian bowlers could be in for a tough time. With the series out of control and pride on the line, don't be put it beyond the 39-year-old to provide some fireworks on Sunday.
Gautam Gambhir shrugged off an indifferent series with a career-best 150 in the last game. Gambhir's strategy of walking down the track before the delivery may have a bit of risk in it, but it clearly speaks of his self-assurance and purpose of throwing the bowler off key. Virender Sehwag's early departure forced Gambhir to steady himself and set a platform, and together with Mahendra Singh Dhoni he flourished. Dhoni always speaks of getting good starts, so it would fall on Gambhir to bat responsibly.
Teams
India are probably going to rest Yuvraj Singh and Praveen Kumar and bring in Sachin Tendulkar and L Balaji. Tendulkar received three dubious decisions before being rested for the fourth ODI, and he will be itching to get in an innings of substance before India head off on a grueling tour of New Zealand. Balaji was recalled to the team in place of an injured Munaf Patel and, on the back of a good domestic season, will be keen to add to his 29 ODI appearances, the last of which came in 2005 in Sri Lanka. There is also a possibility that India will hand young allrounder Ravindra Jadeja his maiden Indian cap, and sit out the left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. Zaheer Khan may come back too.
India: (likely) 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 L Balaji, 11 Ishant Sharma.
Sri Lanka gave no indication of making any changes to their squad the day before the final match. Chamara Kapugedera failed again, so his spot is under pressure. If he does indeed make way it would be for Jehan Mubarak, unless Sri Lanka bring in Upul Tharanga, who has not got a match all series, and move a patchy Tillakaratne Dilshan back to the middle order.
Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 6 Thilina Kandamby, 7, Angelo Mathews, 8 Farveez Maharoof, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Ajantha Mendis.
Pitch and conditions
The pitch is expected to be more like the last two, unlike the second game, even though this is a day game. As Ishant Sharma put it, "it would be better to bowl first as conditions will be helpful. The track becomes flat as the match progresses, to even 300 becomes an easy target'.
Stats & Trivia
* Yuvraj and Dhoni have been the most successful batsmen against Murali. Yuvraj has scored 47 from 58 balls and been dismissed once, while Dhoni has done better, scoring 45 off 42 without getting out to him. Murali has proved expensive this series, going for 203 runs in 40 overs at 5.07-an-over.
* Sri Lanka have struggled in the middle overs in the three matches they've lost chasing. They have lost an average of five wickets between overs 16 and 40, and have averaged 29.86 at a rate of 4.48. India's figures tell a different tale. They've lost 11 wickets at an average of 52.54, and have scored at a healthy rate of 5.78.
* Dilshan and Jayasuriya average 39.83 while batting together. However, after an impressive display against Pakistan, they've been below-par in this series (at the bottom), averaging just 19.25.

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5th ODI - Sri Lanka v India
R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Sun 8
10:00 local, 04:30 GMT

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Muttiah Muralitharan has become the highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals, going past Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram's haul of 502 wickets, in the fourth ODI against India in Colombo. Murali started his 328th match level with Akram and dismissed Gautam Gambhir in his 10th over for the record.
Murali, 36, is also the highest wicket-taker in Tests, with 769 wickets in 125 matches. The last person to simultaneously hold the record for most Test and ODI wickets was the former Indian captain Kapil Dev.
The record came with his 17650th legal delivery. Murali floated the ball outside off stump to induce a thin edge from Gambhir. He turned around to look at his old team-mate Kumar Dharmasena, now an umpire, who raised his finger. Muralitharan then jogged towards the catcher Kumar Sangakkara, who patted him on his back before enveloping him with a hug. The rest of the Sri Lankans joined in the huddle but the celebration was muted.
Murali dedicated the record to his family for their constant encouragement. "They are great supporters of mine, and have stood by me through the bad times and the good." He also said the feat was a great achievement for Sri Lanka "because we are not a great cricket-playing nation, we are a smaller nation compared to others".
Akram, the man whose record was broken, led the tributes to Murali." I noticed his progress in 2003 and realised he was the only man who could break my record," he told AFP. "At times I jokingly told him not to play one-day cricket, so that my record would remain intact, but he is relentless in taking wickets. I am happy that a bowler of his calibre has broken my record.
"No matter what type of surface he has played on, no matter in which country, and against which team ... he is simply great and more than a good bowler, he is a good human being.
India team (from): M.S. Dhoni (capt.), V. Sehwag, S. Tendulkar, G. Gambhir, Yuvraj, S. Raina, Yusuf, Zaheer, Ishant , P. Ojha, Praveen, L. Balaji, Irfan, Rohit, R. Jadeja.
Sri Lanka team (from): M. Jayawardene (capt.), S. Jayasuriya, T. Dilshan, K. Sangakkara, C. Kapugedera, T. Kandamby, F. Maharoof, M. Muralitharan, A. Mendis, N. Kulasekara, D. Fernando, T. Tushara, A. Matthews, U. Tharanga, J. Mubarak.

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Watch video highlights of Ind vs sl, 4th odi to be played at colombo 2009. India allready up in the series is 3-0 will be looking to give rest to some players and might ask to play some juniors.
ndia marched to their longest winning streak - nine matches - with a comprehensive win that pushed Sri Lanka further towards their first 5-0 ODI whitewash. The victory was built around Gautam Gambhir's personal best and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's 94 at No. 3, innings that helped set Sri Lanka a target of 333, 62 more than the highest-ever chased at the Premadasa Stadium. Sri Lanka hit the ground running at the start of their chase but Praveen Kumar and Pragyan Ojha eventually choked off the run supply.
The toss was won yet again by Dhoni, his ninth success in ten games against Sri Lanka, and it proved crucial as Ojha and the part-timers looked more effective under lights than even Muttiah Muralitharan did in the first half of the match. Murali did break the record for the most wickets in ODIs but his landmark victim, Gambhir, had scored 150 by then.
The toss was not the only correct call Dhoni made today. He promoted himself to No. 3 for the first time as captain after the early dismissal of Virender Sehwag. The last time he went in at No. 3, against Bangladesh, Dhoni had added 87 with Gambhir, who scored his second ODI century. Dhoni missed a hundred today after adding 188 with Gambhir, but maintained his superlative record at one-drop. Gambhir went on to make the highest individual score in Sri Lanka.
The total of 332 was achieved only after a difficult start. The pitch at the R Premadasa offered some movement with the new ball and Farveez Maharoof and Nuwan Kulasekara troubled the openers.
After Sehwag's fall - to a sharp catch by Sanath Jayasuriya at mid-off that was about the only moment of inspiration in the field - Gambhir and Dhoni were not given easy offerings. India hit only five boundaries in the first 14 overs and Gambhir had to step out and loft to break the shackles.
In the absence of boundaries, Gambhir and Dhoni ran with ferocity and the kind of understanding that Gambhir and Sehwag demonstrate. The Sri Lankan fielding wilted under the pressure, managing three misfields, not backing up well twice, and allowing too many twos in the outfield. The batsmen were alert to every opportunity, even running overthrows to ricochets off the stumps. Between them, Dhoni and Gambhir took 25 twos and five threes. Dhoni and Gambhir stepped up the pace when Mahela Jayawardene turned to his fourth and fifth bowlers. In back-to-back overs, Gambhir hit Angelo Mathews for a six to bring up his half-century and Dhoni treated Muttiah Muralitharan similarly to reach his. Dhoni looked for another higher gear but top-edged Jayasuriya to short third man when he was six short of his century.
Following the loss of three quick wickets, Gambhir switched from steady accumulator to ruthless hitter. He was on 87 off 98 balls when Yusuf got out, but scored 63 off the next 49. Along with Gambhir, Suresh Raina kept finding the gaps and India scored 97 in the last 12 overs.
Facing a daunting target, Sri Lanka's best chance was for Tillakaratne Dilshan and Jayasuriya to take on India's new-ball attack of Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan. They got off to a blazing start but the weight of the required run-rate was too much and both batsmen fell trying to manufacture shots. Kumar Sangakkara scored an impressive half-century but with wickets falling at the other end, he did not have it easy.

Cricket Highlights India vs Srilanka 4th ODI

Unruly elements in the crowd interrupted play for the third match in a row just before Sri Lanka came unstuck. This time around, Dhoni led his team off the field. Only 17.2 overs had been bowled then, and 27 minutes were lost to the disruption. Play resumed only after a few stands were vacated.
Before the interruption, Praveen Kumar bowled an eight-over spell during which he reined Sri Lanka in. He had conceded only 33 of the 102 runs at the end of 16 overs, 12 of which came in his second over when Dilshan got stuck into him. At the other end, Jayasuriya took delight in flicking Irfan Pathan off his pads and hitting him over extra cover. However, he tried one shot too many and pulled Irfan straight to short cover where Rohit Sharma reacted quickly. Praveen had the final laugh in the battle against Dilshan, after the batsman top-edged a pull yet again. Between them Jayasuriya and Dilshan had scored 61 in 65 balls, but their dismissals meant Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene had to consolidate for a while.
After the interruption, Sri Lanka lost the plot in face of disconcerting turn the Indian spinners got from the pitch. Ojha was the most impressive, casting the first seeds of doubt by spinning the ball across Jayawardene regularly.
Ojha bowled better than his 1 for 34 suggests and the part-time spinners benefited from the shackles that he imposed. Sri Lanka lost their last eight wickets for 125. Only nine boundaries and two sixes were hit after the 16th over, all of them after the match had practically been lost.

Indian Batting Part 1

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Details OF 3rd ODI India Vs Srilanka On Feb 3rd
How wide is the gulf between victory and defeat in a one-sided ODI? Today, that distance was determined by the difference in the quality of bowling by India and Sri Lanka in the Powerplay overs.
To say Sri Lanka's bowling was poor would be understating it. That Yuvraj hit 82 runs on the leg side is one indication of how wayward their lines were. Another is Farveez Maharoof leaking 68 runs in seven overs while almost consistently targeting the pads; so too Dilhara Fernando's problems with the front-foot no-ball. The argument that the batsmen did not allow the bowlers to settle into rhythm simply doesn't hold given the lines adopted by Sri Lanka's attack.
Yuvraj indulged himself so much in an erratic attack that he did not have to impose himself against his nemesis Ajantha Mendis, off whom he took 12 runs in 14 deliveries. The tactical battle had already been won.
Mahela Jayawardene admitted as much. "I am disappointed with the bowling," he said. "When they [India] put us under the pressure, the bowlers couldn't adjust. In the Powerplays, we had set fields but we didn't bowl the right lines. It's something we have talked about but we have not done it. And that has let us down today."
Sri Lanka took the bowling Powerplay in the 12th over and conceded 50 runs in five overs. Maharoof overpitched and strayed on to the pads with fine-leg in the circle. As a result, four out of the seven boundaries Yuvraj took off him came in that region. Dilhara Fernando, the other bowler used during the Powerplay, was guilty of the same mistake and conceded two out of his three fours at fine leg.
The bowling Powerplay ended after the 16th over but India decided to increase momentum by taking the batting Powerplay immediately. When Jayawardene brought on Muttiah Muralitharan and Mendis, Virender Sehwag stepped in to attack them. He put away two short deliveries from Mendis with panache, and lapped Murali around the corner before lofting him inside out to the cover boundary. India scored 43 runs off their Powerplay and progressed to 167 for 2, virtually killing the contest right there.
The performance of India's bowlers during the Powerplays of Sri Lanka's innings provided stark contrast. They were undeniably under less pressure, defending a total of 363, but the lines bowled were far superior.
Although Sri Lanka managed to score 39 off India's bowling Powerplay, the difference lay in the risks they were forced to take, the manner in which they had to earn their runs. Jayawardene played two flamboyant but risky flicks against Ishant Sharma, hitting the ball from outside off over midwicket, and once exposed his stumps to make room and hit the ball over extra cover. Kumar Sangakkara had to charge Zaheer to hit him for a boundary. India simpy didn't need to take such risks while they batted.
Sri Lanka were 95 for 2 after 15 overs when they gambled by taking the batting Powerplay. It was a tricky decision to make for Mahela Jayawardene because both Kumar Sangakkara and he were well set. Do you keep those five overs towards the business end of a chase? Or do you give your set batsmen five more overs of fielding restrictions to exploit?
"Well the required run-rate was so high we decided to take it," Mahela explained later. "Yes the spinners might have come on but the wicket was beginning to get slow and turn. If we had lost wickets, the batting Powerplay might have been wasted. So we thought, since we were going well, let's take it."
Praveen Kumar rose to the challenge by bowling a series of slower ones, mixing his pace and length, while Zaheer Khan focused on hitting the blockhole. As the asking rate approached eight in the 19th over, Jayawardene jumped out of his crease, trying to hit Praveen inside out, but holed out instead. It was one risk too many. Sri Lanka scored only 26 in that Powerplay and the task proved too much for Sangakkara.
Gary Kirsten had said earlier that this Indian team could win even if they played at 60% efficiency. That may be a debatable statement but there's no doubt that Sri Lanka cannot win if they play at 60%. They need to step up.

Match to start at 09:00 GMT
4th ODI v Sri Lanka at Colombo (RPS) - Feb 5, 2009 (14:30 local, 09:00 GMT)
5th ODI v Sri Lanka at Colombo (SSC) - Feb 8, 2009 (10:00 local, 04:30 GMT)

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Watch India Vs Srilanka 3rd ODI At Colombia live streaming for free, Watch India vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI Match to be played at Colombo - Live Cricket Streaming LInks Online Tv. Justin.tv, Ustream, Flash ,Freedocast, sopcast, tvu links for Ind vs SL ODI Match.

After two low-scoring games in Dambulla, the teams move to three straight day-night
contests at the Premadasa, and the statistics suggest what happens in the rest of the
series could lie in the starts given by the top-order batsmen. In 60 day-night games,
Nos 1-3 average 35.78 per wicket, that figure falling to 29.84 for the next three in the
line-up. With the advent of Powerplays teams pack their top order with their most
instinctive - and destructive - stroke players. Unlike India, who have major injury woes
and are searching for rhythm, Sri Lanka are settled, with Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara
in their top three.

Yuvraj Singh has been cleared of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct by the match referee Chris Broad at a hearing after the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Yuvraj had been charged under Level 1.3 of the code, which refers to "showing dissent at an umpire's decision". He had been adjudged lbw off Nuwan Kulasekara when on 66; the ball was going on to hit the stumps but Yuvraj had got a big inside edge onto the pads which the umpire had failed to spot. He waited at the crease for a few seconds on receiving the decision, before trudging of

Match to start at 14:30 IST.

Match scheduled to begin at 10:00 local time (04:30 GMT)
3rd ODI v Sri Lanka at Colombo (RPS) - Feb 3, 2009 (14:30 local, 09:00 GMT)
4th ODI v Sri Lanka at Colombo (RPS) - Feb 5, 2009 (14:30 local, 09:00 GMT)
5th ODI v Sri Lanka at Colombo (SSC) - Feb 8, 2009 (10:00 local, 04:30 GMT)

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Tue 10 Floodlit Match
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R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo


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India in Sri Lanka 2008-09

Captains gear up for tough challenge

Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels his team will benefit from having recently played in Sri Lanka © AFP

Both Mahela Jayawardene and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are expecting the five-ODI contest, which starts on January 28 in Dambulla, to be a closely-fought affair. India edged out Sri Lanka 3-2 in the ODIs during their visit in July-August last year, but the hosts are confident about their prospects after their recent 2-1 success in Pakistan.

“It’s going to be a tough, challenging series but we are looking forward to that challenge,” Jayawardene said. “Things happened for us in Pakistan which is good. We should try and continue that trend.

“I put the success that we had in Pakistan [down] to the way we successfully adapted to the tough conditions in Zimbabwe and in Bangladesh,” he added. “A lot of younger guys put their hands up and a lot of character was shown in our team. In different situations certain players played really well. That gave a lot of guys the confidence going forward.

“The way we lost the first game in Pakistan was really tough for us. We had a chat and we knew exactly what went wrong and the next two games was history. The way our boys played was brilliant. The last three months have taught us quite a few lessons and hopefully we’ll learn from that and continue to improve as a unit.”

While Sri Lanka have been on the road for the past three months, India have enjoyed successes at home, against Australia and England, and the luxury of a break in a cramped schedule thanks to the cancellation of the Pakistan tour - the absence of which has led to Sri Lanka playing both teams.

In the 3-2 win last time around, Dhoni won four tosses, which he felt would play a vital role. “It’s not the weather but the wickets behave in a strange way in Sri Lanka,” he said. “The ball grips on and it is slightly slower. In the last one-and-a-half years you have venues like Dambulla and Premadasa Stadium where it seams around in the evening especially under the lights. If it is a day game in Dambulla the ball does a lot. That’s why the toss is very important.”

India will be without an experienced campaigner in Harbhajan Singh, and Dhoni said it was a chance for left-arm spinners Pragyan Ojha and the uncapped Ravindra Jadeja to prove their mettle. “Harbhajan has been the pick of the bowlers when it comes to spinners,” Dhoni said. “He is one person who wants to perform in a game. We will miss him. We have two spinners in the side Pragyan Ojha and Ravindra Jadeja who will try to fill in the space. We also have part-timers who have done well.”

With the pitches favouring spin, Dhoni does not foresee a tough time for them. “One plus point is that over here the spinners get the assistance from the wicket,” he said. “It won’t be really tough for them if they find a good length. It will be comparatively easy compared to a wicket that doesn’t assist them and favours the batsmen. It’s a fair opportunity for both the spinners to prove themselves when your leading spinner is not there.”