Virat Kohli and Co aim to make it 4-0

India are leading the one-day series 3-0 and their eyes would be set on another clean sweep of the tour. Team India play SL in the 4th ODI on Thursday in Colombo.

Date and Time : 31st August 2017, 2:30 PM IST

Venue : R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Having already won the series, India might now look to give new players a chance. The likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Shardul Thakur can get to play the 4th ODI.

As for Sri Lanka, their aim would now be to win the remaining games. We should remember that they have to win at least 2 ODI’s to qualify automatically for the 2019 World Cup.

In the last game we saw how Sri Lanka once again failed to post a substantial total. Their batting have been a big problem for them throughout India’s visit so far. The likes of Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews haven’t really been at their best.

In terms of their bowling, Akila Dananjaya has been a standout from the rest of bowlers. He has challenged India but the lack of potency from the other end has made SL loose the 2nd and 3rd one-dayers.

India will be very happy that Dhoni and the bowlers have been good so far. They will just need to carry on the same process.

Team news and possible line-ups

Chamara Kapugedera, who was the stand-in captain for suspended Upul Tharanga has been ruled out of the 4th ODI due to a stiff back. Lasith Malinga will lead Sri Lanka in his absence.

Dinesh Chandimal suffered a hairline fracture in the right thumb in Sunday’s game and has been ruled out of the series.

Dhananjaya de Silva and Dilshan Munaweera have been named as replacements for Chandimal and Kapugedera.

On the other hand, India have to decide on a lot of issues. It’s tough to see Shikhar Dhawan being replaced by Ajinkya Rahane, whereas Manish Pandey could play in place of Kedar Jadhav or KL Rahul. Kuldeep Yadav and Shardul Thakur might feature in the playing XI as well.

Sri Lanka XI : Malinga (C), Dickwella (WK), Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Siriwardana, Thisara Perera, Chameera, Akila Dananjaya, Vishwa Fernando.

India XI : Kohli (C), Rohit, Shikhar, Manish Pandey, Dhoni (WK), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav.

Prediction

The way things are going at the moment, It’s easy to say that India wins the 4th ODI. But we will have to wait and see.