Make or break for Lanka

Indian pacer Praveen Kumar tosses a ball during a practice session ahead of the fourth one-day international against Sri Lanka at the R Peremadasa Stadium in Colombo yesterday.Photo: AFP

Having put the pressure on the hosts with two consecutive wins, India are likely to retain the winning combination when they go into the fourth cricket one-dayer against Sri Lanka here today seeking to clinch the series by taking an unassailable 3-1 lead.
After being thrashed in the first match in Dambulla, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his young bravehearts have tilted the scale in their favour with two close wins and need just one more triumph to record a rare overseas series win.
Although the Indians have been quite sloppy on the field with a number of dropped catches, the two victories will no doubt serve as a morale booster as they gear up for another floodlit contest at the R Premadasa Stadium.
The islanders, on the other hand, have no option but to win the game today to stay afloat in the five-match series.
The track at the Premadasa stadium did provide some assistance to the bowlers which means that the game could turn out to be another low-scoring affair.
The two rival captains -- Dhoni and Mahela Jayawardene -- did prove that batting was not all that difficult on this pitch with heroic knocks and it remains to be seen whether the other batsmen show the necessary application.
Dhoni had won the important toss in the last two games and may again opt to bat first, when the wicket is at its best, if luck favours him again.
But the will be certainly on Sri Lanka and Jayawardene will need more support from his teammates, especially the batsmen, in what is a must-win game for them in an effort to round off a victorious summer. The scenario is similar to last year's home series against England, which they conceded 3-2 after winning the first game. Since their 5-0 clean sweep against South Africa four years ago, their only bilateral series wins have come against Bangladesh.
Surprisingly, their batting has not been up to scratch, contrary to the popular perception of their invincibility on home pitches. Jayawardene's 94 on Sunday was the highest score by a Sri Lankan at home in 14 complete ODIs, after Upul Tharanga's 105 against Bangladesh in 2005. Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara have yet to fire in this series, Tillakaratne Dilshan has failed to convert his starts and the persistence with Chamara Silva hasn't paid off.
The Lankans have not ever lost two successive ODI series at home, and Jayawardene will be desperate to ensure it doesn't happen now.
They will also look forward to their champion off-spinner Muttiah Muralidaran to strike back.
Murali's figures of none for 48 from nine overs on Sunday was his second-most expensive spell in a home ODI for the last ten years. The only occasion he went for more runs during this period -- against Pakistan in 2006 -- he had three wickets to show for his efforts. Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas both went wicketless on Sunday. The last time this happened in a 50-over ODI was way back on January 13, 2006, in a VB Series match against Australia in Melbourne.
Sri Lanka: (likely) Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Udawatte, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Chamara Kapugedera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara, Ajantha Mendis, Muttiah Muralidharan.
India: (likely) Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), S Badrinath, Rohit Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel.