India Look for early final ticket

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It is the supreme irony at this rain-hit tournament that India, who started their campaign with a mammoth 200-run defeat, are probably the best-placed among the three teams to reach the final.

Rain — which washed out the second Sri Lanka-New Zealand league game despite the reserve day — finally made way for clear weather by Saturday evening and in case the last two games see a result, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men will have the luxury of reaching the title round with one win from their two remaining games.
For Sri Lanka, Sunday’s game thus becomes a must-win one. A damp wicket and a slow outfield are not good signs for a side that depend on their lead batsmen for a flier. The practice session being cancelled due to wet conditions was the last thing the hosts would have wanted before going into a crucial match.
Both sides have similar worries. India depend heavily on Virender Sehwag for a launch, and more. The only other batsman to look in good nick has been Suresh Raina.
For the Lankans, Tillakaratne Dilshan is the key man. He needs to do better than some his 40s if the hosts are to build bigger scores. The rhythm that Chamara Silva and Mahela Jayawardene showed on Friday must have come as a huge relief for Sangakkara who has had too many issues affecting him.
Strategies will be woven around the fragile middle order. Wickets from the new ball has been a common feature so far and the teams that have shown the wherewithal to hold on and battle in the middle overs have prevailed.
Sri Lanka did well in the abandoned game on Friday, showing the nous to do well in the conditions and the Indian spinners will have to be spot on. Blessed with a strong lower order, Sri Lanka can wriggle out of a tight corner and India cannot afford to repeat the mistakes they made against New Zealand.
It is therefore a straight contest. No calculators or bonus poinst are needed at this late stage of the tri-series. Sri Lanka will progress to the final if they win, and if so, India will get a second chance against the Kiwis on Wednesday.
One change for each side looks imminent. Yuvraj Singh comes in for Virat Kohli while Suraj Randiv, after serving his one-match ban, is likely to replace Ajantha Mendis.
Teams (from):
India: M.S. Dhoni (c & wk), Virender Sehwag (vc), Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik (WK), R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Saurabh Tiwary. Coach: Gary Kirsten.
Sri Lanka: K. Sangakkara (c & wk), M. Jayawardene (vc), T.M. Dilshan, U. Tharanga, A. Mathews, T. Samaraweera, C. Kapugedara, Chamara Silva, S. Randiv, A. Mendis, L. Malinga, N. Kulasekara, D. Fernando, R. Herath, T. Perera. Coach: Trevor Bayliss