Fri, Aug 27 10 01:07 PM
T V Sriram Dambulla (Sri Lanka), Aug 27 (PTI) India would look to avenge the league stage humiliation and clinch their second successive ODI trophy on Sri Lankan soil when they take on the hosts in what promises to be a high-voltage summit clash of the cricket tri-series here tomorrow. Both the teams find themselves face to face in a final clash for the second time in just over a month after Kumar Sangakkara''s men finished on the losing side in the Asia Cup finals in June. The ongoing tri-series, however, has been a lot more dramatic then the Asia Cup both on and off the field. The third team in fray, New Zealand, is out of the equation after India handed it a 105-run thrashing in the last league match of the series. Fitting the drama that has unfolded in the past two weeks, including the now infamous no ball that Suraj Randiv bowled to deny Virender Sehwag a hundred, India and Sri Lanka have made the finals and it is hard to pick a winner in conditions where the toss of the coin has been of decisive significance. The 105-run triumph over New Zealand may make it seem that India are in destructive form but the fact remains that had it not been Sehwag''s individual brilliance, the Indians could well have found it hard to put it past the depleted but spirited Kiwis. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has admitted that barring Sehwag all the batsmen are struggling on the tricky pitches here and mastering the conditions would be the biggest challenge for both the teams in the match which might also have some tense moments given the build-up so far. Randiv''s deliberate no ball incident has added some zing to the rivalry between the two sides, whose way-too-often face offs were becoming dull. Words have been exchanged in the pre and post-match press conferences but in the end, it will boil down to the cricket played on the pitch and that''s where the Lankans came out trumps in the league encounter. More PTI TVS PM MRM
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