Colombo: Former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be cynosure of all eyes as he gears up for his 300th ODI with a marauding India ready to tighten the noose around beleaguered Sri Lanka in the penultimate encounter of the five-match series here, Thursday.
And there is a good opportunity for the former India captain to come up with a memorable performance in his milestone match since Sri Lanka have hardly come across as respectable rivals in the lop-sided series.
Considered one of the greatest finishers in the limited overs cricket, Dhoni will join India’s elite ‘Club 300’, which has Sachin Tendulkar (463), Rahul Dravid (340), Mohammed Azharuddin (334), Sourav Ganguly (308) and Yuvraj Singh (301).
Dhoni should be in fine fettle after playing a significant role in bailing out the team in back-to-back tricky chases against the hosts, slowly falling apart. The unbeaten knocks of 45 and 67 under pressure is a proof that he is still not finished and his eyes are firmly set on the 2019 50-over World Cup.
The series already sealed with an unassailable 3-0 lead, Virat Kohli’s next aim would be to give a chance to players who have only warmed the benches so far such as Kuldeep Yadav, Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur.
Lasith Malinga will lead hosts in the fourth ODI. Dhananjaya de Silva and Dilshan Munaweera have been added to the squad as covers.
Stats
MS Dhoni so far
M I R HS Avg 100s 50s SR
299 257 9608 183* 51.93 10 65 88.47
300-ODI Club
Player M R HS Avg 100s 50s SR
Sachin Tendulkar 463 18426 200* 44.83 49 96 86.23
Rahul Dravid 340 10768 153 39.15 12 82 71.18
Md Azharuddin 334 9378 153* 36.92 7 58 74.02
Sourav Ganguly 308 11221 183 40.95 22 71 73.65
Yuvraj Singh 301 8609 150 36.47 14 52 87.43
* indicates the unbeaten knock
press trust of india