Tri Series Final: India Will Start Favourites Against Sri Lanka in Mirpur

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Sreelata YellamrazuJan 13 2010

India will start with their nose ahead in the final of the Idea Cup tri series at the Shere Bangla National Stadium but Sri Lanka will look to pull up their socks in this all important final game.

virat kohli suresh raina

Based on the past two performances by India, where the bowling appeared to be finally gaining ground (although they did let Bangladesh loose after having the hands around the throats of the hosts), India can feel like they have the edge over the Sri Lankans who are also struggling with their bowlers.

With the possible return of Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh, India will look to field a full strength team although it is still unclear whether Sreesanth will lose his place to Sudeep Tyagi. Mahendra Singh Dhoni will not want to take any chances in ensuring that the Sri Lankans will not be able to cause an upset - an upset it will be since Sri Lanka have not been able to shake off India, apart from the one league game.

It will all depend on how the Indian bowlers bowl because it will make the difference between Sri Lanka struggling to post a total/chase, and it will also have a direct bearing on how much force is applied on the Indian batting, which has not disappointed.

There is little doubt that Virat Kohli will be expected to play a bigger role with the bat, as the man in the form and in line for the Man of the Series award with two consecutive match winning innings. And the senior pros will simply have to lift themselves on the occasion and back themselves to chase down any total that Sri Lanka throw at them should the latter bat first.

The toss continues to be a no-brainer. Win toss, field first and hope that dew runs down the hopes of the opposition. It holds true for both teams. Bangladesh, from the disappointing hosts' perspective, sit this one out.

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