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AFP: Sri Lanka are flirting with an embarrassing series whitewash in the third Test against India from Saturday as they struggle with problems on and off the pitch which have thrown the team into turbulence.
A series of poor results, the early departure of their coach and accusations against players and the country’s cricket chief have made for a difficult few months for the former one-day world champions.
Sri Lanka, lampooned by fans and described as pot-bellied by their sports minister, can now ill afford a third loss to top-ranked India in Pallekele, following their crushing defeats in Galle and Colombo.
They have not been helped by a succession of injuries, capped by a back problem which has sidelined their number one bowler, Rangana Herath, for the third Test.
Paceman Nuwan Pradeep could bowl only 17.4 overs in Colombo before pulling out with a hamstring injury, and all-rounder Asela Gunaratne are already out of the series.
Sri Lanka failed to reach the semi-finals of the eight-team Champions Trophy in June, and then lost their coach when Graham Ford quit mid-contract.
Worse was to come when they humiliatingly went down 3-2 in a home one-day series to bottom-ranked Zimbabwe.
Former captain Arjuna Ranatunga, a government minister, told AFP that he blamed Sri Lanka’s losses on cricket chief Thilanga Sumathipala, and accused him of links to gambling -- a claim Sumathipala denies.
There have also been reports of attempts to approach Sri Lankan players for alleged match-fixing.
Skipper Dinesh Chandimal, who missed the first Test with pneumonia, says a consolation victory over India would help put the smiles back on his players’ faces.
“If we can win even one match against a team like this (India), we will be able to really boost the mental state in the team. They are the number one team,” said Chandimal.
“We need to pick up the positives and look forward to the next game.”
There are no such problems for Virat Kohli, who became the only India captain to win two Test series in Sri Lanka as his side smashed first innings of 600 and more in the opening two Tests.
Cheteshwar Pujara leads India’s run-scorers with two centuries and an average of more than 100 in India’s three innings so far.
India’s bowlers have also shone with spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin topping the wicket-takers’ chart with 13 and 11 respectively.
Jadeja is suspended for the third Test for a dangerous throw, with Axar Patel brought in as his like-for-like replacement in the India squad.
Despite their form, wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha insists India are taking nothing for granted.
“We haven’t thought about 3-0. Our process is match by match,” he said.
“We are ahead by 2-0, so in the next match the aim is to give similar performance as last two matches as a team in batting, bowling and fielding. We will try to be consistent and if we do then we can win.”
ESPNCricinfo: Fast bowlers Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Gamage have been added to Sri Lanka’s squad for the third Test, while batsman Danushka Gunathilaka - who played in Galle - has been omitted. Nuwan Pradeep, who is injured, and Rangana Herath, who is being rested on account of a stiff back, also exited the squad.
Chameera’s inclusion was somewhat expected following the injury to Pradeep. Though he has not played a Test since December last year, he has had success in the format, most notably in New Zealand, where he claimed career-best figures of 5 for 47 on a fast, bouncy track in Hamilton. Chameera nursed a stress fracture through much of 2016, and has had only sporadic opportunities with the national team since then. At his quickest, he exceeds 145kph, but is yet to deliver a standout bowling performance since returning from that major injury.
The addition of Gamage, however, was a little more of a surprise. Reputed as a good mover of the ball, he has often played for Sri Lanka’s A team, including against England Lions earlier in the year, but has not been in wicket-taking form recently. He did not take a wicket in the 17 overs he bowled in last month’s practice match against India in Colombo. With Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando already in the squad, Sri Lanka now have four quicks to choose from for the Pallekele Test.
Gunathilaka’s omission, meanwhile, is perhaps owed to little other than circumstance. With Dinesh Chandimal now back in the side after missing the first match due to pneumonia, there are no more spots open in the top four. He had not put pressure on the selectors to remain in the squad either. Though he had come into the series in excellent limited-overs form, Gunathilaka made only 16 and 2 on Test debut.
The third Test begins on Saturday.
Sri Lanka squad: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Upul Tharanga, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dilruwan Perera, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Gamage, Lakshan Sandakan, Malinda Pushpakumara
ESPNCricinfo: Ravindra Jadeja has overtaken Shakib Al Hasan to become the No. 1 Test allrounder, to go with his No. 1 ranking in the Test bowling charts. Jadeja, who has been suspended for the third Test against Sri Lanka in Pallekele, is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 13 wickets at an average of 28.76. He has also contributed 85 runs, with a highest score of 70*, which came in the SSC Test.
Two centuries in the first two Tests against Sri Lanka also helped Cheteshwar Pujara move to No. 3 in the Test batting rankings, climbing up one place, while Ajinkya Rahane broke into the top 10, moving up five spots to No. 6. Rahane has scored 212 runs in two Tests so far, with one fifty and one century.
A fine all-round display from Moeen Ali in England’s 3-1 series win over South Africa helped him retain his No. 4 spot in the allrounder rankings, while moving up three positions to a career-best 21st slot in the batting rankings. Moeen struck 252 runs and finished the series as the highest wicket-taker with 25 wickets at an average of 15.64, becoming the first player to score 250 runs and take 25 wickets in a four-Test series. His wicket tally in the series included a ten-wicket haul in the first Test at Lord’s.
James Anderson’s 20 wickets against South Africa pushed him up to No. 2 in the Test bowling rankings, displacing R Ashwin, while Jonny Bairstow moved to No. 7 in the batting charts, after finishing as the second-highest run-getter in the Tests against South Africa.
