PHOTO: AFP

RALLYING FORCE: With the Indian middle order looking a bit shaky, Mahendra Singh Dhoni would have a big role to play.

Margao: Private beach parties cannot figure high on the priority list as the Indians seek to redeem themselves in the third one-dayer here on Wednesday after the shoddy finish in Rajkot, where the second match in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka was lost in the last five overs.

Whereas the Lankans are focussing on building momentum ahead of the World Cup, the home side has been hit by a series of injuries to key players and it is only now that some of them are making a return.

The last time Yuvraj Singh played here, he made a century against an attack that comprised Andrew Flintoff and James Anderson, among others. If he can make even a quick thirty-odd here, he would be encouraged.

Slow wicket

The wicket here is usually a bit slow and takes a little spin. When India beat England here, there were complaints that the pitch had been under-prepared; before this, India had lost the first three matches played at this venue. The odd league game has been played at the Nehru stadium over the past month to test the pitch and Rahul Dravid reckons that a good one-day wicket can be expected.

At the captains' press conference on the eve of the match, he didn't dismiss outright the possibility of sending Virender Sehwag out to open; in fact he didn't confirm whether the Delhi opener would play. Dravid only said that Sehwag had been included in the twelve since his off-spin, which has shaped nicely over the past season, would come in handy. Having Sehwag open was one of the options available.

Ploy against Uthappa

The man who has usurped his place at the top of the batting order, Robin Uthappa, is slowly being sorted out. The West Indians kept pitching the ball up to him, perhaps hoping to get the edge, but the Karnataka lad has been extremely assured playing through the line on the front foot. Having observed that, the Lankans are employing a shorter length against him.

A good length Farveez Mahroof delivery that reared off the seam caught him by surprise in Rajkot; the plan in all likelihood won't be different here. Uthappa worked on getting quickly on the backfoot at the practice nets on Tuesday, and it will be interesting to see if he can make those adjustments count immediately under match conditions.

Dravid has made five fifties and a 49 in his last ten matches; Sachin Tendulkar scored his 41st century against the West Indies in Vadodara and then followed it up with a half-century in Rajkot. But otherwise the middle order is creaking.

The issues with bowling and fielding are of greater concern. Irfan Pathan hasn't fully recovered from soreness in his left shoulder. Anil Kumble has pulled out due to personal reasons, while S. Sreesanth has been rested. In their place, Ajit Agarkar and Yuvraj — who has reportedly recovered from back spasms — will make the eleven. Suresh Raina and R.P. Singh have been drafted into the squad as injury cover for the last two matches.

On the bright side, now that the squad for the Caribbean has been announced, the players need no longer shut their eyes hard and cross fingers like tentative beauty queens strung in suspense. Out-of-form players will be able to perform with a little more freedom.

"The atmosphere is slightly more relaxed," Dravid agreed. "But we have to take one game at a time."

The teams (from) India: Rahul Dravid (capt.), Sourav Ganguly, Robin Uthappa, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, Dinesh Karthik.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt.), Kumar Sangakkara, Russel Arnold, Marvan Atapattu, Malinga Bandara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dilhara Fernando, Sanath Jayasuriya, Nuwan Kulasekara, Farveez Mahroof, Lasith Malinga, Chamara Silva, Upul Tharanga, Nuwan Zoysa, Upul Chandana.

Umpires: Simon Taufel and Ameesh Saheba.

Third Umpire: Suresh Shastri.

Hours of play: 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.; 1.10 p.m. onwards

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