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After a resounding a victory over a hapless Sri Lanka at Kanpur, India would look to wrap up the series in style and move to the top of the ICC Test Rankings by winning the third and final test to played from 2nd December at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, the venue that hosted India's first ever test back in 1933. As the city's regular venue, the Wankhade Stadium, is currently being renovated for the 2011 World Cup, the historical Brabourne Stadium will host a test after a long gap of 36 years.

India recorded their 100th test win as they completely dominated the second test played at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. A test recall to the feisty temperamental pacer, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and a debutant in Pragyan Ohja were the two ch anges that the host went in with at Kanpur. Sreesanth's inclusion was a gamble alright but one that was properly thought out. He was picked ahead of Ishant Sharma, whose form has dipped considerably over the course of this season. The Kerala speedster didn't disappoint as he returned with match figures of 6 - 122 in 33 overs which included a five-for in the first innings, proving to be the protagonist in Sri Lanka's batting collapse. The most heartening thing about Sreesanth's performance was his discipline and calmness that allowed him to control his infamous antics and focus on bowling a good line and length consistently. A visibly delighted M S Dhoni was quoted as saying, "He was aggressive but controlled his emotions. That's what is important". Pragyan Ohja too showed great promise as he stuck to the basics, bowling in the right areas keeping a tight check on the scoring rate and effectively bottling one end up. ‘The Turbanator' Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan were also impressive as they put in good displays giving the Indian bowling attack a more settled, confident and a potent look compared to the one that played in the first test.

The visitors were batted out of the test on the first day itself as the swash buckling opening pair of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag raced to 200 in just the 38th over. A lapse in concentration led to the dismissal of Viru not before he had brought up his 16th test ton. Gambhir scored his fourth century in as many tests and veteran Rahul Dravid brought up his second century of the series, as India amassed a first innings total in excess of 600 with useful contributions from the middle order as well.

Sri Lanka's gamble to go in with three spinners, expecting the pitch to break as soon as the sun came out backfired as they were put to the sword by a strong Indians batting line up that made merry on a flat deck. Apart from the first hour or so when the new ball did seam a little, never did any of the Lanka bowlers really look like picking up a wicket with runs flowing at a rather brisk rate. Rangana Herath was the only bowler who came out of the second test with his head held high as he bagged a five-for, his first on Indian soil and fourth in all tests, outshining his more illustrious spinning partners. The M ‘n' M combination of Murali and Mendis was made to look mediocre to say the least as neither bowler was allowed to settle into any sort of rhythm. The main concern for the Lankan Captain Kumar Sangakkara coming into the match was the inability of the world's leading wicket taker Muttiah Muralitharan to provide breakthroughs for his team and it'll continue to worry him heading into the third test as well after another forgettable performance by the Champion Spinner in the second test. Murali followed up a dismal outing at Motera, where he went wicketless in the second innings with another poor display at Kanpur finishing as the most expensive frontline bowler from either side.

Sri Lanka's batting that was so impressive at Motera was a major disappointment at Kanpur. The top order was always under tremendous pressure with quantum of runs staring them on the scoreboard. The stress of matching India's mountainous score aided by an inspirational spell of bowling by the comeback pacer Sreesanth meant that Sri Lanka never really took off in their first innings. Given the disintegrating pitch and with Harbhajan Singh in the bowling ranks, a deficit of 413 in the second innings was always going to be difficult for Sri Lanka and an India victory looked inevitable. A lack of application, from the Sri Lankans meant that India took the honours on the fourth day itself.

Sri Lanka having suffered their worst defeat ever against the hosts at Kanpur will have to get their act together if they are to deny India a victory at Mumbai. India have the added incentive of finishing the year as the world's no.1 test team should they be able to wrap up the series 2-0. With the ICC Test rankings only updated at the end of the series, the current no.1 side South Africa would be relegated to second as they would still be midway through their home series with England come end December.

India will be without the services of their opening batsman, Gautam Gambhir, who will be attending his sister's wedding, for the third test. Murali Vijay, the Tamil Nadu opener looks the likely replacement with the rest of the team expecting to remain unchanged. The visitors on the other hand have a lot to ponder upon to get their team combination to click. With Dammika Prasad fit again, they are highly unlikely to retain the same bowling line and that means the exclusion of any of the three spinners. Herath looks certain to retain his place after his impressive displays in the first two tests. That leaves the team management with a choice to leave either Muarli or Mendis out. It might not even be surprising if Sri Lanka goes in with Mendis leaving the Spin Wizard out given the kind of form the latter is in. It would however be a tough call for the skipper to make given that Muralitharan has already announced that this would be his last test tour.

With an early morning start scheduled for the third test, there will be something for sure in the pitch for the bowlers in Mumbai. The toss hence, might just be one worth losing with neither skipper likely to deny his batsmen first use of the wicket. With the batting line-up that Sri Lanka possesses it would be foolhardy to assume this series done and dusted yet, but it is hard to see where the Lankans are going to pick up the 20 wickets they will need to record their first ever test win on Indian soil and more crucially, level the series.

Likely teams:

India: Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ohja, Zaheer Khan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth

Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Tharanga Paranavitara, Kumar Sangakkara (C), Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Prasanna Jayawardene (WK), Dammika Prasad, Chanaka Welegedera, Rangana Herath, Muttiah Muralitharan

File Photograph Copyright: Chandru