BEND YOUR BACK: Skipper Virender Sehwag (right) would expect Ishant Sharma to fire on all cylinders in the third ODI at Cuttack on Monday.

CUTTACK: How much closer can these games get? There’s been a sense of urgency in both teams to infuse drama into the matches and push them towards a popular finish.

Both teams have also suffered from periodic suicidal bouts — throwing away wickets and dropping sitters.

But then, who doesn’t love a high-scoring final over finish? The curator at the Barabati Stadium, apprised of the many vagaries of this one-day series, has promised plenty more runs and drama for Monday’s day-night encounter.

Both teams have lost players along the way. M.S. Dhoni’s ban could not have come at a worse time for India. The skipper’s batting form and his presence in the middle will be missed as India tries to hit back after the loss at Nagpur.

Dinesh Karthik is equally adept with the gloves and is a good batman, but it is Dhoni’s captaincy that will be missed the most.

Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara was hoping that the host would be hit by Dhoni’s absence.

“I don’t know if it will be a factor for them, but I hope it is because he is one of the batsmen in form and losing him will be a blow. But we have lost Angelo Mathews as well, so both teams have been hit.”

Bold move

The Lankans’ strategy to go in with the extra bowler for Nagpur was a bold and interesting move. Chanaka Welegedara and Mathews kept it simple and plugged the run-scoring opportunities in the first 10 overs.

The spinners Ajantha Mendis and Suraj Randiv were a delight to watch, while Suranga Lakmal was expensive but showed promise.

With Mathews ruled out of the series after pulling his quadricep muscle, Sangakkara said he would keep his options open about the most balanced combination. Thissara Perera has been named as Mathews’ replacement.

“There is a chance of everyone playing the next game. It will all depend on the wicket and what suits the team best. We’d like to keep all our options open, whether it’s five bowlers or four. We’ll see what suits the team’s balance.”

One of the more difficult decisions Sangakkara has to take will be on picking Sanath Jayasuriya and slotting him at the right place. The Indian skipper will be no less pre-occupied. One would rather dissociate Virender Sehwag with anxieties of any kind, but Sangakkara’s latest counterpart will have to concern himself with keeping the pace of play under control.

Dhoni’s remarkable lack of control delayed the finish at Nagpur by 45 minutes and earned him the ban and the team a fine.

Captaincy, in itself, isn’t something Sehwag is worried about. “There’s no pressure. It is not difficult to captain the team because I am part of it and aware of the various strategies.

“I have been part of this team for the last eight years and am fully aware of what job I am supposed to do. In any case, whether I am the captain or not doesn’t matter. My job is to go out there and score runs,” he added.

The team composition will put the management in a quandary. Yuvraj Singh seemed to batting with that very purpose at the nets. The left-hander is likely to be fit, which will make it difficult to drop Virat Kohli after his impressive half-century at Nagpur.

Ishant Sharma’s abilities with the new ball could put Praveen Kumar’s place under threat, even if the latter is considered an all-round option.

Dew factor

The evening dew puts the toss in focus. Sehwag believed the dew could be more of a factor at Cuttack than it was at Nagpur, in which case both teams would prefer not bowling under lights.

The bowlers have struggled to maintain a balance between containment and wicket-taking. It is this struggle that has seen so many runs being scored in this series. Unfortunately for the bowlers, Cuttack promises to be no different.

The teams (from): India: Virender Sehwag (capt.), Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Sudeep Tyagi and Pragyan Ojha.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt.), Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilina Kandamby, Thilan Samaraweera, Sanath Jayasuriya, Thissara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thilan Thushara, Lasith Malinga, Chanaka Welegedara, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Suraj Randiv and Ajantha Mendis.

Umpires: M. Erasmus and Sanjay Hazare.

Match begins at 2.30 p.m.

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