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Sean Solia smashed 152 off 127 balls on List A debut to set up Auckland’s match-winning total of 295 against Northern Districts at Eden Park Outer Oval. Their whopping 161-run victory was secured by fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, who claimed career-best figures of 6 for 27 to raze Northern Districts for 134 in 27 overs. The margin earned Auckland a bonus point.Coming in at No. 3 after Michael Guptill-Bunce was dismissed in the first over, Solia, 24, went on to hit 12 fours and eight sixes during his innings. He was the fourth man out, with the score on 232 in the 38th over, but Auckland slumped thereafter and were dismissed in 47.1 overs. The second highest scorer was opener Glenn Phillips, who made 34.The Northern Districts chase had a horrific start, with both openers falling for ducks to Ferguson in the first over. Ferguson struck twice in the seventh over as well, taking wickets off successive deliveries to reduce Northern Districts to 22 for 5. Their No. 9 Daryl Mitchell top scored with 39 off 35 balls to eventually drag his team past 100. Apart from Solia, five other players made their debuts in the game – Ben Horne and Raja Sandhu for Auckland, and Zak Gibson, Freddy Walker and Peter Bocock for Northern Districts.A collective performance from Canterbury’s batsmen helped them chase down Central Districts’ 296 for 6 with four balls to spare in Rangiora. Five of their top six batsmen went past 35, with debutant opener Jack Boyle making 43, and Todd Astle top scoring with 60 off 56 balls. Cam Fletcher remained not out on a run-a-ball 42 to secure a two-wicket victory. The finish was tricky: Canterbury needed 37 off 31 balls at the fall of their seventh wicket, but the tail gave Fletcher support to finish the job. Central Districts’ Ben Wheeler had the best bowling figures of the game – a career-best 4 for 51 – but ended up on the losing side.Defending champions Central Districts also had the three highest scores of the game after choosing to bat. George Worker made 90, Jesse Ryder scored 68 to go past 5000 List A runs, and 19-year old Josh Clarkson smashed 70 off 43 balls, his maiden half-century in his third List A game. Matt Henry, Tim Johnston and Astle took two wickets apiece for Canterbury. Canterbury also had to overcome the loss of their captain Andrew Ellis, who injured his thumb before the game, while a side injury allowed their fast bowler Kyle Jamieson to bowl only 2.5 overs in the Central Districts innings.Wellington overcame a top-order slump to chase down Otago’s 302 with three wickets in hand and 11 balls to spare in Dunedin. Wellington had been reduced to 5 for 89 in the 19th over before Luke Woodcock led the lower-order revival. Woodcock made 92 off 108 balls before he was bowled by Anaru Kitchen, while Matt Taylor smacked 56 off 38. Anurag Verma, who was unbeaten on 42, finished the game in the company of Jeetan Patel, whose 25 came off only 12 balls as Wellington got to 304 in 48.1 overs. Kitchen took a career best 4 for 49 in ten overs for Otago, who used as many as eight bowlers. James Neesham bowled only four overs, taking 1 for 21.Neesham and Kitchen had also played vital roles with the bat for Otago, who were struggling at 44 for 3 in the 12th over after losing the toss. Neesham top scored with 65 off 56 balls, while Kitchen made 60 off 63. Michael Bracewell and Christi Viljoen also made half-centuries before Otago were dismissed for 302 in 50 overs. Viljoen was making a Ford Trophy debut, having played all his previous List A games for Namibia. Brent Arnel and Verma, who later played a vital role in the chase, took three wickets apiece for Wellington.

“There is always a first time,” Anil Kumble said when reminded of the ask in front of them. Australia lead them by 298 runs with six wickets in hand after having bowled them out for 105 in the first innings. Only five times has 300 been scored in the fourth innings in India, and the highest chase accomplished is 387. And this is not just any Indian pitch, this is a pitch where dust flew when David Warner scratched his guard on day one. By all means, India need a miracle to experience a “first”, but Kumble was hopeful they could do it.”We would like to restrict them to as little as possible,” Kumble said. “We dropped a few catches. It has hurt us in the past, especially in this game you need to hold your chances even if they are half chances. We dropped Steven Smith on a couple of occasions, that has certainly pushed us back. Hopefully tomorrow morning we can pick up a few early wickets and then put the pressure back on them.”Kumble, though, felt India let the game slip away before the dropped chances in the second innings. “It’s a surface where you needed to adapt,” Kumble said. “We didn’t adapt really well. Probably if you look at yesterday, the first 80 runs in the first session and the last 60 runs for the last wicket, that slightly took us away from what we were wanting to restrict Australia to.”Kumble said India could have shown more restraint with the bat. “You are bound to have one bad day,” Kumble said. “It was disappointing. We were in a pretty decent position when [KL] Rahul and Ajinkya [Rahane] were batting out there. But once Rahul got out, we lost those four wickets in five or six balls. That certainty pushed us back. You are bound to have a bad day.”One of those things where a couple of soft dismissals. And this pitch was certainly challenging, so we needed a lot more restraint and showed that if you put your head down, you could make those runs. It was unfortunate that once Rahul got out, we seemed to lose the bearing at that point of time.”Rahul and Rahane had helped India recover from 44 for 3 with a 50-run partnership. Rahul played an excellent innings, but most of it under duress. He seemed unwell, and to make it worse he dislocated his shoulder while hitting a six. When he went to hit another six later in his innings, the shoulder popped out again and a big outside edge settled with long-off. An almighty collapsed followed, and India went from 94 for 3 to 105 all out.Kumble was asked if the injury led to Rahul’s shot. Even in the lead-up, he seemed to be throwing his bat around. It could have been possible that Rahul wanted to get as many as he could before it got too uncomfortable. “I think the shot created the injury, not just to him but even to the team,” Kumble joked, making it clear discomfort was not behind the shot.There was good news for India. Towards stumps, Rahul came back on the field after substitute Abhinav Mukund had dropped two catches, one a difficult grab at mid-on and the other a more regulation offering at bat-pad.”He hurt his shoulder a little bit,” Kumble said. “It came off a little bit while he was batting. So we had to take some care there, this is more a precaution. He seems okay now. He was back in the field for the last couple of overs. He should be okay for tomorrow. We will have to see how he responds. Usually this kind of injury take 24 hours before it resurfaces. So we are hoping he will be fine tomorrow morning.”Kumble was asked if Rahul’s dismissal was the turning point. “In hindsight, yes,” he said. “You need to play your shots on this type of wicket. You couldn’t really blame the batsman. In hindsight he could have held back. After that, that was the start of things to happen. It was unfortunate we had a poor day. The lower order has contributed to us exceptionally in the past and today was not our day.”

Moises Henriques is heading back to Surrey this summer two years after his first spell at the county ended in disturbing fashion after only three appearances because of a serious jaw injury.Henriques suffered with a broken jaw in three places, and required three bouts of surgery after a jarring collision in the field with his Surrey team-mate Rory Burns in a NatWest T20 Blast game against Sussex at Arundel. But Henriques, who has underlined his full recovery by extending his Australia career in all three formats, has said he has “unfinished business” with the county.The allrounder will once again play in the domestic T20 competition, providing cover while former Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara competes in the Caribbean Premier League.He told Surrey’s official website: “I’m really happy to be returning to Surrey, a great club where I really enjoyed myself in 2015.”As well as feeling like I’ve got a bit of unfinished business, the NatWest T20 Blast is well established as one of the top T20 competitions in the world and I’m really looking forward to playing against some of the world’s best cricketers in front of sold out London crowds at the Kia Oval.”Henriques joins his fellow Australian Aaron Finch, who will be available for the entirety of the competition, while Surrey further swelled their batting ranks earlier this month by re-signing Kevin Pietersen.

Brendon McCullum will miss the last three matches of Gujarat Lions’ IPL 2017 season after suffering a left hamstring strain in the match against Delhi Daredevils on Thursday. Lions were knocked out of contention for playoffs after their seven-wicket defeat to Daredevils.McCullum’s injury reduces Lions’ pool of fit overseas players to four: Dwayne Smith, Aaron Finch, James Faulkner and UAE’s Chirag Suri. Injuries had earlier ruled out allrounder Dwayne Bravo and fast bowler Andrew Tye, while Jason Roy has returned to England on international duty.In a tweet, McCullum stated that the “compressed tournament and long travel” had taken a toll.With 319 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 147, McCullum is currently the second-highest run-getter for Lions this season, following up on the 354 runs he hit last season.The side, however, has struggled to match its performance from 2016 when they had reached the playoff stage. So far this season, they have three wins in 11 matches.They are also expected to be without fast bowler Nathu Singh for the rest of the tournament, reportedly due to back spasms.Lions are scheduled to play one away match – against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali [May 7] – followed by two home matches against Daredevils [May 10] and Sunrisers Hyderabad [May 13] in Kanpur.

ScorecardKyle Abbott was again in the wickets to leave Middlesex under pressure•PA Photos

Michael Carberry and Rilee Rossouw agonisingly missed out on centuries but Hampshire remained in control against Middlesex at the Ageas Bowl.The pair produced magical and brave innings before a rare moment of ill-judgement saw them off for 98 and 99 respectively.Despite the near misses the hosts stayed on top thanks to Kyle Abbott’s evening inroads into the visitor’s top-order as Middlesex ended the day 29 runs ahead.The day began with Carberry falling two runs short of a much merited and universally wanted century after waiting since May last year to taste three figures in the Specsavers County Championship and missing the second half of last season through cancer treatment.

‘Heartbroken for Carbs’

Kyle Abbott on Rilee Rossouw
“I thought he had the second run, I know he is quick through the wickets, but it was a shame. He took it quite badly. He took a while to unpad. He realised the opportunity of a hundred but it isn’t the end of the world. From what I can understand he was in a lot of pain but he is a tough Afrikaan so he won’t sit down and roll over.
Abbott on Michael Carberry
“I was heartbroken there for Carbs. I just wanted to be out there with him when he got that first hundred after what he had been through. Carbs has had an amazing attitude since I’ve come back. He seems to be free and it shows in his cricket.”

He watchfully negotiated the nearly overs, desperate not to gift his wicket away, after starting the day on 84. But two balls after moving to 98 with a thick edge through the slip cordon he opened his shoulders for the first time since the previous evening and edged behind leaving the Ageas Bowl in stunned silence.Abbott, elevated to nightwatchman on the second evening, had been in flowing mood on the drive throughout the morning and reached his maiden Championship fifty off 77 balls. He had put on 80 with Carberry before the opener and Lewis McManus fell soon after each other – the wicketkeeper gloving to third slip.Carberry’s dismissal had brought Rossouw to the crease, after being forced to move down the order due to a chipped finger in his left hand. He was hit twice on the same hand twice during his counter-attacking stand with Berg with the pair adding 86 for the eighth wicket.The pair both struck massive sixes in a speedy stand before Berg was caught and bowled by Dawid Malan, with Brad Wheal being caught behind next ball. Rossouw was inexplicably dropped by Malan in the covers when the ball barely picking up speed off the bat to loop through the fielder’s hands.Fidel Edwards, who injured his hamstring while bowling, completed a walking wounded partnership for the last wicket. Rossouw had often needed to take his bottom hand off the bat and after taking on a never-there two he was run out by Sam Robson one short of his century.Despite a lead of 82, with the two first innings having taken until deep into the third day to complete the odds appeared to favour a draw, but Abbott had other ideas. He ripped through Sam Robson with a beauty which seemed to lift and straighten on the opener.He then accounted for Nick Gubbins with a superb delivery, his 50th in the Championship wicket, angling slightly across the left hander to kiss the edge of the bat to second slip. Abbott almost had a third when Sean Ervine dropped a tough chance at first slip with Stevie Eskinazi on 6.Wheal used his impressive pace to take the third scalp as Malan left a hooping in-swinger. Eskinazi and Adam Voges made a recovery to take Middlesex back into the black, but the former’s late-in-the-day swipe behind for 45 off Abbott left Hampshire with a chance of making it back-to-back victories.

ScorecardJamie Porter removed both openers on his way to four wickets•Getty Images

Paul Walter and Jamie Porter blasted out fragile Middlesex for 149 to claim career-best one-day figures and lay the foundations for Essex’s comfortable seven-wicket Royal London Cup victory.Walter marked his List A debut on Wednesday with three wickets at the death against Sussex, and bettered that with four front-line Middlesex wickets for 37 from eight overs. At one stage he had taken 4 for 21 runs from 27 balls.Porter weighed in, claiming his four wickets for 40 as Middlesex, put in, slumped from 54 for 1 to 117 for 9. Only a last-wicket stand of 31 between Steven Finn and Ravi Patel, the second best of the innings, took Middlesex to a seriously below-par 148. To compound their humiliation, they left nearly 10 of their 50 overs unused.Alastair Cook saw Essex through to their fifth win in six as the day-night match ended with more than 20 overs remaining and still in bright sunlight. Cook finished unbeaten on 67.The big news in Essex’s selection was that James Foster came in for his first game of the season behind the stumps; he was on the scorecard as early as the seventh over. Nick Gubbins had hit five fours in 22 before he got a thick edge to Porter and a diving Foster took the catch in front of first slip.After two brief breaks for rain, which enlivened the wicket no end, Middlesex lost two wickets in five balls. Nick Compton played on to Walter’s second legitimate ball and then Dawid Malan wafted at Porter to give Foster a more straightforward catch.Walter made deep inroads into the Middlesex middle-order in a spell of four wickets from 27 balls at a personal cost of 21 when he sent back Adam Voges, James Franklin and John Simpson in quick order.Voges chased a wide one to give Foster a third catch, Franklin was trapped lbw on his crease next ball, and Simpson followed in his next over, also leg before. Middlesex had slumped from 54 for 1 to 90 for 6.When the 22-year-old Walter came off after six overs, he had figures of 4 for 31. That brought Porter back into the attack and he claimed his third wicket, Ryan Higgins misjudging a slower ball and cross-batting to Tom Westley at short midwicket.Tom Helm contributed just one before he sent back a tame caught-and-bowled to Ashar Zaidi and then Toby Roland-Jones fell lbw to Porter, stepping back and not playing a shot. Patel showed some spirit with a six off Zaidi over long leg as the tail wagged determinedly. , Patel finally departed for a pleasing 18 when he was bowled by Simon Harmer, leaving Finn 13 not out.Varun Chopra and Cook moved comfortably to 49 for the first wicket. Cook stepped back to cut one from Helm and Chopra pulled Finn for two splendid fours before he was first to depart, caught behind on the drive against Patel.Cook survived a dropped catch by Franklin in the slips off Finn when he was 35, and soon after Zaidi received a reprieve when Patel missed a simple caught-and-bowled on one. It only cost Middlesex five runs as Zaidi swept Patel low to Voges at square leg.The England opener eased himself to fifty from 51 balls when he punched Patel through the covers for his eighth boundary. His ninth, though, was rather more fortunate as he edged Finn uppishly through a three-man slip cordon.Tom Westley came in after successive first-ball ducks, but looked in better form as he thumped Finn through the covers for four and added two more with identical on-drives off Helm. However, in the same over, he chopped on and departed for 15.Ravi Bopara looked in a hurry as he took three fours in an over off Patel, sweeping the first and lofting two straight drives to take Essex within 15 runs of victory in only the 26th over. The otherwise accurate Patel finished with a tidy two for 39 from his 10 overs.

India’s score of 190 at Sabina Park with short boundaries and a flat pitch was “20 runs short”, according to West Indies T20 captain Carlos Brathwaite, who lauded the efforts of quick bowlers Kesrick Williams and Jerome Taylor. The hosts chased down the total with a blistering 53-ball hundred from Evin Lewis, who hit the winnings runs to seal their nine-wicket win.”It was a very good wicket, but we did very well to keep them to 190, especially after the start they had,” Brathwaite said. “Kesrick [Williams] had two very important strikes in the sixth over and then when Jerome Taylor came back and finished, he brought us back into the game. We all thought that 190 was 20 runs short and then the batters proved their worth.”West Indies head coach Stuart Law was expecting a score of 240-250 from India after seeing a rapid start from their openers. “The way the Indians started their batting innings on a very good wicket with fast outfield and small boundaries, I think we did really well to contain them to 190,” he said. “To be honest, at one stage I was looking at 240-250. We didn’t start very well with the ball but we finished very well. It was very difficult to bowl with the new ball, the spinners weren’t getting much turn with the new ball and it was a very easy-paced pitch. If you slightly missed your line or length, you’d go for four or six. But towards the end of their innings, we saw how well they (West Indies) bowled and managed to contain India. Keeping them under 200 was an outstanding effort.”To only chase 190 on a small ground and flat wicket, it’s going to take some chasing but we saw one of the better innings I’ve ever seen in T20 cricket. Evin Lewis, hats off.”Lewis scored his second T20 hundred against India in only three matches, after he had blasted 100 off 49 balls in Florida last August. His century on Sunday was studded with 12 sixes and six fours, and Brathwaite said Lewis’ unconventional shots make him stand out.”He’s a very positive young man, he hits the ball very very cleanly,” Brathwaite said. “Another good thing about him is once he gets in, he goes all the way. He has two hundreds and a 90, something like that. He doesn’t stop short, he doesn’t make 20s or 30s.”Once he gets in, he’s very difficult to stop and he doesn’t give his wicket away. I don’t know what’s the secret, but looking from the outside, he’s a very unconventional player. There are players who are conventional and hit the ball hard, and he’s the other way around. He hits the ball sweetly and cleanly, he also hits them in some funny areas that fielding teams take a while to get accustomed to. But when they are trying to get accustomed to, he’s already 50-odd and heading to 90 or 100.”1:41

My aim is to perform consistently – Karthik

While Law lauded Lewis’ century too, he also said the batsman – who scored all of 67 runs in four ODIs against India – could have found it easier mentally to play more freely in the T20 format as compared to 50-over cricket.”Just the power hitting – how he picked his targets, he hit with the wind, he played all the right shots, played good cricket shots as well,” Law said. “There wasn’t any mad swings of the bat, they were all controlled and controlled aggression which we know Evin Lewis can do. I’d love to see him do that in the 50-over format, that will be one hell of a way to start a 50-over game as well. But credit to the young man, he hasn’t got a big score yet this summer and to finish it off in style like that was a great achievement.”I try not to talk too much to the players; they know their games. We just try and work out options for them and areas where they are very very strong. Batting for me is all about getting your body in a position to hit the ball in the area you are strong at, and Evin did that today beautifully. It might be [a] mental [shift] to carry that sort of mindset into the T20 game. Also there is pressure if you get out having a big woosh, in a 50-over game, in the first three overs – you look like a fool. I just want him to go out there and play his game and if he does get out in the first five overs, it’s no issue for me because if he gets to a good start he can take the game away.”West Indies, the reigning T20I champions, put behind them a 3-1 ODI series loss and were boosted by the inclusion of star players such as Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine for the one-off T20. Brathwaite said their presence boosted their confidence but they were putting in a lot of hard work in ODIs too, where they are ranked ninth and struggling to gain automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup.”Being able to rub shoulders with them (big players) and being able to ask their opinions, especially in crucial times, even to practice with them is a privilege. It gives the guys a little more confidence but any day with them in the team and not performing, the good thing is they (youngsters) take the mantle upon themselves, be professional – not just off the field but also on it. Whenever we go on the park, we always try to give a 100%.”As a young captain I just want the guys to express themselves. It’s not too many instructions from me; once we have a team plan we go there and try to execute it. The message from me is: always express yourself.”

Match Facts

August 3-7, 2017
Start time: 1000 local (0430GMT)2:10

Agarkar: Tough on Abhinav but he will have to make way

Big Picture

Fourteen overs. That’s about as long as Sri Lanka stayed in the contest in Galle. As soon as Shikhar Dhawan’s catch went down and Asela Gunaratne left the field, shoulders seemed to drop, bowlers’ lines seemed to stray, and India rampaged more or less unhindered for four days.How Sri Lanka can get themselves into this series without trying something even slightly radical, it is difficult to see. They are strengthened by the return of their captain Dinesh Chandimal, but the balance of the side has been compromised by Gunaratne’s absence. A chance then, finally, to play five frontline bowlers? The SSC pitch may be a surface that requires an extra bowler, in any case. Matches there are no longer the bad old borefests of years ago, but at least two-and-a-half days generally still go to the batsmen. In Galle, India had hit their 840 runs at a rate of 4.5 per over, for the loss of only 13 wickets. Sri Lanka can’t afford to approach this match with the same bowling strategy.India have a selection call to make at the top of their order now that KL Rahul is fit again, but are unlikely to favour Abhinav Mukund despite his good second-innings knock in Galle. There, though, lie the extent of their “problems”. Having out-batted, out-bowled and out-strategised Sri Lanka (that they out-fielded the hosts goes without saying lately), India appear almost as short of weaknesses as Sri Lanka were of ideas.Sadly for the hosts, it’s also probably too early in the tour for complacency to have begun wrapping its tentacles around India’s game. With each of the opposition’s top five having scored at least one fifty in the Galle Test, and with all the bowlers having claimed wickets, Sri Lanka need to climb a very tall, very steep, very in-form mountain.

Form guide

Sri Lanka LWLWL (completed matches, most recent first)
India WWDWL

In the spotlight

When KL Rahul last came to Sri Lanka, he was a century or nothing batsman, hitting 7, 5, 108, 2, 2 and 2 across his six innings here in 2015. Now, his batting seems to have the opposite personality. In his seven most recent innings, Rahul has made six half-centuries, the best of which was the 90 on a spitting Bangalore track against Australia. In a country that has been notoriously unkind to openers, India have enough faith in Rahul to restore him to the XI, despite having other good options.Also coming back from illness is Dinesh Chandimal, though he has not quite recovered completely yet – having received special ICC permission to use an inhaler during the game. His has been a fraught captaincy so far. He was appointed only two days before the Zimbabwe Test last month, and is now faced with having to raise morale after what was a difficult Test in Galle. In order to properly claim his position as the captain of this side, Chandimal also needs runs.Dhananjaya de Silva could get a place in the Sri Lanka XI ahead of Lahiru Thirimanne, to fill in for Asela Gunaratne•AFP

Team news

Sri Lanka may play three spinners in this match, with Chandimal issuing strong hints that Malinda Pushpakumara may make an international debut. If they play with only four frontline bowlers, Dinesh Chandimal has hinted that Dhananjaya de Silva is more likely to enter the side ahead of Lahiru Thirimanne, who was selected in the squad 13 months after last playing for Sri Lanka. Danushka Gunathilaka is set to make way for Chandimal.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Dimuth Karunaratne, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (capt.), 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 7 Dhananjaya de Silva, 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Malinda Pushpakumara, 11 Nuwan PradeepIf India believe the pitch will take a lot of turn, left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav becomes a strong contender for the XI. If he plays, Hardik Pandya is likeliest to be displaced.India: 1 KL Rahul, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt.), Ajinkya Rahane, 6 R Ashwin, 7 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Mohammed Shami

Pitch and conditions

There is dead grass holding the surface together, but the SSC track looks decidedly drier than the pitch at Galle. Generally though, it takes at least three days for the ball to begin taking sharp turn at this venue. There were five centuries in the most-recent SSC Test. Isolated showers are forecast throughout the Test.

Stats and trivia

• This will be Cheteshwar Pujara’s 50th Test. He has scored hundreds in each of the two Tests he has played in Sri Lanka so far, including at the SSC, where he made 145 not out in 2015.
• R Ashwin needs 50 more runs to get to 2000 Test runs.
• Sri Lanka’s highest scorer from Galle – Dimuth Karunaratne – is also their highest scorer for the year so far, though by a very slim margin. His 448 runs in 2017 is one more than Kusal Mendis. Both have played the same number of innings.

Big Picture

Riot police, bottle-throwing, selector resignations, heated debates over cricket in cabinet meetings, and an ever-growing list of injuries – the past few days in Sri Lankan cricket have been as acrimonious as any in recent memory. Every time the situation seems to have reached rock bottom, new depths, somehow, are plumbed.There remain two ODIs in Colombo, however, and though the series has been decided, Sri Lanka are playing for a little more than pride. They must win the two remaining games to seal automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup. Lose them both, and they will automatically qualify only if West Indies win no more than three of their five ODIs against England next month (and do not lose the one-off game to Ireland). If Sri Lanka win one of the remaining games, then they must hope that West Indies do not win all six of their upcoming matches. But so resurgent have West Indies been this week that this is not a chance Sri Lanka will want to take. Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels have also returned to West Indies’ ODI side for that series, a truce with their board having been reached.Where in the Tests Sri Lanka’s toothless bowling set the tone for each dispiriting performance, the batting has been the greater of Sri Lanka’s failings in the ODIs – the top order having failed to sustain whatever little momentum they could generate, and the middle order repeatedly failing to contend with India’s spinners.India, meanwhile, have almost seemed bored on this tour. Several batsmen have buffed their stats, and in the third match Jasprit Bumrah claimed a maiden ODI five-wicket haul, but at times all they have to do is turn up and watch the opposition sabotage themselves. Chamara Kapugedera’s decision to bat first after winning Sri Lanka’s first toss of the series, for example, was baffling – not least to some of his own team-mates.But with the series secure, this is India’s chance to test the depth in their squad. Kuldeep Yadav, who was so impressive in the West Indies, may finally get a run. Ajinkya Rahane or Manish Pandey will hope to earn a spot in the middle order – KL Rahul and Kedar Jadhav having been unconvincing in their two innings so far in the series. Virat Kohli has repeatedly expressed a preference to play his first-choice XI right through this tour, but India might gain more from these matches by giving their fringe players a run.

Form guide

Sri Lanka LLLLL(completed matches, most recent first)
India WWWWL

In the spotlight

For so long one of the cleverest limited-overs operators, Lasith Malinga has the chance to captain Sri Lanka. There is a good argument that in a parallel universe, where Malinga’s ankle and knee joints were not so problematic, and his attitude did not rub people up the wrong way, he could have been a wonderful long-term captain. Upul Tharanga is set to return in the fifth match, but for one match at least, it may be fascinating to get a glimpse of what kind of ODI leader Malinga might have been.In his first 22 innings in Sri Lanka, Rohit Sharma had averaged 14.25, and hit only one fifty. In the space of two innings now, he has scored 54 and 124 not out. These are not good signs for Sri Lanka, who have been on the receiving end of one of the great limited-overs onslaughts at Rohit’s hands. In the second half of his innings on Sunday, Rohit began to hit effortless boundaries off good deliveries – a sign that he is nearing his best form. With Shikhar Dhawan also in good nick on this tour, restraining India’s openers represents a major challenge for the hosts.NurPhoto/Getty Images

Team news

Opening batsman Dilshan Munaweera – uncapped in ODIs – has been called up to the squad to cover for Kapugedera. With Dinesh Chandimal out and Danushka Gunathilaka still doubtful for Thursday’s match due to his shoulder strain, Munaweera could well open the innings alongside Niroshan Dickwella. If Gunathilaka does not recover in time, however, Sri Lanka may find themselves one batsman short, and may have to field Thisara Perera in the lower middle order.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 2 Danushka Gunathilaka/Dilshan Munaweera, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Lahiru Thirimanne, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Milinda Siriwardana 7 Thisara Perera 8 Akila Dananjaya, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Vishwa Fernando, 11 Lasith Malinga (capt.)Batsman Manish Pandey, left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav and seamer Shardul Thakur may all have an opportunity in this match, with Kedar Jadhav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar the most likely to make way.India (possible): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt.), 4 KL Rahul, 5 Manish Pandey, 6 MS Dhoni (wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Shardul Thakur, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch and conditions

There was a little grass on the Khettarama surface on the eve of the match, which suggests there will be a little more pace and carry than is ordinarily seen at this venue. There is a chance afternoon and evening showers will interrupt play.

Stats and trivia

• Lasith Malinga needs one more wicket to reach 300 ODI dismissals. He will be 13th bowler overall, and the fourth Sri Lankan after Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Sanath Jayasuriya, to the milestone.
• This will also be MS Dhoni’s 300th ODI. He will be the 20th cricketer overall, and the sixth India player to the milestone. His ODI match tally also includes three matches for Asia XI in 2007.
• Dhoni is also on 99 stumpings and needs just one more to become the most prolific ODI stumper, moving clear ahead of Kumar Sangakkara.
• Under Virat Kohli’s captaincy India have won all eight bilateral ODI matches against Sri Lanka. The only occasions Sri Lanka have beaten a Kohli-led India have come at neutral grounds, at multi-team tournaments: once at the Asia Cup, once in a tri-series in the West Indies, and once at the Champions Trophy.

Quotes

“I feel captaincy is a good challenge for me. At the moment, we have lost a few matches – yes. I have played for the last fourteen years for the national team, and I still feel we have good young players. A few good experienced players also. This is the time we have to stand up and give confidence to young players – to let them know we are still good enough to play international cricket. People think we are not top of the table, but I feel we can change that.”

Shikhar Dhawan will not play the first three ODIs against Australia. A press release from the BCCI said the India batsman has asked for leave to take care of his wife, who has taken ill.The selectors have decided not to name a replacement for Dhawan, with back-up openers KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane already in 16-man squad.India do have to contend with losing a player in excellent form though. He had missed the ODIs against New Zealand in 2016 – and played only two of three against England that followed – but since his return to the top of the order in the Champions Trophy, he has made two centuries and four fifties in 14 innings. Dhawan had to miss the final ODI and the only T20 in the Sri Lanka tour earlier this month to fly back home to attend to his mother who had been unwell.It is likely that Rahane will now take over the opener’s spot. He had been excellent in the West Indies in June and July, named the Man of the Series for his 336 runs in five innings. Four of them were fifty-plus scores.Should that be the case, Rahul might have to get used to life in the middle order. His first time to the new role didn’t go well – 28 runs in three innings in Sri Lanka – but he has the backing of the captain Virat Kohli, who has repeatedly called him a “champion” player.India play the first of five ODIs against Australia on September 17 in Chennai.