Charith Asalanka won the toss in Colombo and, with nothing riding on the result, chose to chase. “We’ll bowl first,” he said. “It’s still an important game for us; if we can keep India to around 175, we’re happy.”
Sri Lanka have tweaked the balance again, batting-all-rounder Janith Liyanage replacing seamer Chamika Karunaratne. That leaves Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana to share the spin duties, with Dushmantha Chameera and Nuwan Thushara leading the pace.
India have rested two regulars. Jasprit Bumrah sits out for the first time this tournament, while the in-form Shivam Dube gets a breather. Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh and uncapped right-armer Harshit Rana step in. Captain Suryakumar Yadav sounded relaxed about the call: “We would have batted first as well, so no complaints.”
The match is a dead rubber – both sides already know India will meet Pakistan in Sunday’s final – yet coaches have stressed the value of rhythm. Rahul Dravid, speaking yesterday, insisted rotation is “not about charity caps, it’s about building depth”.
Sri Lanka XI
Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka (capt), Dasun Shanaka, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara
India XI
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh
Quick take
• Both teams testing bench strength; conditions still warm and slow.
• Sri Lanka short on batting time this week – Liyanage gives them another option at No.7.
• India’s left-arm angle returns via Arshdeep; Rana offers raw pace but can be expensive at the death.
We’ll know soon enough whether 175 is enough of a par score – the surface used two days ago suggested anything past 160 keeps the chasing side honest.
