Sanju Samson makes his ODI debut after seven T20I appearances © Cricket Australia via Getty Images
With the series already in the bag, and the ODI Super League inconsequential to them (because they have automatic qualification, as hosts of the next World Cup), India have named five debutants and made six changes to the XI that won the second game on Tuesday. Winning his first toss of the series, captain Shikhar Dhawan opted to bat first.
Sanju Samson (top order batter and wicketkeeper), Nitish Rana (middle-order batter), K Gowtham (offspinning-allrounder), Rahul Chahar (legspinner) and Chetan Sakariya (left-arm seamer) are the debutants for India. Right-arm quick Navdeep Saini, who has played seven ODIs, is the other addition to the team. Making way for these players were Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Sri Lanka have made three changes of their own. With Wanindu Hasaranga and Kasun Rajitha out with injuries, and Lakshan Sandakan dropped, they have brought in offspinning-allrounder Ramesh Mendis, offspinner Akila Dananjaya, and left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama. Of those, Jayawickrama is playing his first ODI, having had a successful debut in Tests, against Bangladesh, earlier in the year.
The hosts are desperate not just to better their woeful ODI record this year, as they have lost nine of their ten completed matches, but also to lift themselves off the bottom of the Super League table. They are 12th out of 13 sides at present, with only 12 points in the bank.
Sri Lanka: 1 Avishka Fernando, 2 Minod Bhanuka (wk), 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Dhananjaya de Silva, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Ramesh Mendis, 8 Chamika Karunaratne, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Akila Dananjaya, 11 Praveen Jayawickrama
India: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 3 Sanju Samson (wk), 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Suryakumar Yadav, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Nitish Rana, 8 K Gowtham, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Navdeep Saini, 11 Chetan Sakariya
Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo’s Sri Lanka correspondent. @afidelf
©
ESPN Sports Media Ltd.