A win away from clinching the series, India will bank on their explosive batting line-up as they battle history and injury in the fourth One-day international against Sri Lanka at the half-filled Eden Gardens here Thursday.

Indian cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, left, and Virender Sehwag interact during a practice session

The rollicking form of seasoned campaigners Sachin Tendulkar (208 at 104 average) and stand-in-skipper Virender Sehwag (194 at 64.66 average) is a big plus for the hosts with the duo having amassed nearly 400 runs between them in the five-game series that India lead 2-1.

But more vital is the way they have scored the runs. While Tendulkar has a strike rate of 94.97, Sehwag’s is an enviable 144.97, and the Lankan bowlers must be burning the midnight oil to find a way out to check their tormentors on a ground which is hosting an ODI after 32 months.

Gautam Gambhir, the other vital cog in the Indian batting department, has so far failed to fire in the series and the hosts would be hoping that he gets into form on the morrow in the absence of regular skipper and aggressive bat Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is serving a two-game ban for India’s slow overrate in the second ODI at Nagpur.

India are also without the stylish left hander Yuvraj Singh, who has been ruled out of the remaining matches of the series with a finger injury.

In bowling, young left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja’s spectacular showing (4-32) in the third ODI at Cuttack has raised hopes of finding a suitable partner for experienced offie Harbhajan Singh, more so at Eden, where the spinners have often played a decisive role.

Having last staged an ODI in February 2007, one would have hoped to see a full house at the large Eden stadium, but the renovation of four galleries in preparation for the 2011 World Cup has reduced its capacity.

With only 53 percent of the seats in the 83,635-capacity stadium now available, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has done away with priced tickets for the match, which will be the fourth the two teams will play here. They have won one apiece while the other was a no-result.

For Sri Lanka, dashing opener Tillakratne Dilshan has been in superb form, cracking two back-to-back hundreds before a blitzy 18-ball 41 at Cuttack. Dilshan’s opening partner Upul Tharanga and skipper Kumar Sangakkara are also among runs, though Mahela Jayawardene is going through a lean patch.

Speaking to mediapersons on the match-eve, Sehwag said the Indians would aim to get Dilshan out quickly.

“It is difficult to stop him. It is better to try and get him out. If we can get his wicket, we can put pressure on the Sri Lankan middle order,” he said.

The visitors are also playing the series without several of their regulars, and the absence of the Muttiah Muralitharan — back home after the Test series following an injury — could hurt the Lankans the most Thursday.

The 40-year-old Sanath Jayasuriya, whose aggressive batting and part-time spin could come in handy for the Lankans, may make a comeback into the team after being dropped for two ODIs.

“There is always a chance for him to play. We haven’t finalised the 11,” said Sri Lankan coach Trevor Bayliss at the pre-match media meet.

Bayliss did not think Dhoni and Yuvraj’s unavailability would give a boost to his side. “They have only two players out of the team. We have five,” he pointed out.

The pitch appeared firm, but the extent of the wind and the dew could play a vital part in determining the course of Thursday’s game.

Sewhag said he would opt to field if he won the toss to avoid the problems the bowlers could face because of the evening dew.

Bayliss, however, said the wicket looked hard and good and full of runs.

Traditionally, the sprawling Eden Gardens has seen moderate scores, compared to the now-familiar scenes of teams belting 350 or even more in the 50-over games on other parks. Only once has a team scored 300 plus on this ground, and the credit goes to Sri Lanka who amassed 301 against Pakistan 12 years ago.

While India have emerged victorious in eight of their 15 limited over games at Eden, they lost three of their last four ties. One was rained out.

Sri Lanka have won three of their half-a-dozen games at Eden and lost two, while one was washed out.

Teams (from):

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

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (captain-wicketkeeper), Tillakaratne Dilshan, SanathJayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilina Kandamby, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera, Upul Tharanga, Chanaka Welegedara, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Suraj Randiv and Thissara Perera.

Umpires: Marais Erasmus (South Africa), Sanjay Hazare (India).

Third umpire: Shavir Tarapore.

Match starts at 2.30 p.m.

Next season’s Twenty20 cup looks set to be an altogether more glamourous affair, with Middlesex having already signed Adam Gilchrist and hopeful of adding Sachin Tendulkar as well. Add to this the arrival of Ajantha Mendis at Hampshire, and county cricket in general is looking like it might be a little easier on the eye next season.

Lancashire, not to be outdone, have made Lily Allen an honorary member.

The build-up to India’s Test series with Sri Lanka has been somewhat overshadowed by the continuing coverage of Sachin Tendulkar’s 20th year in international cricket, but with top spot in the ICC Test Rankings up for grabs, the contest has much to offer.

Sri Lanka’s record in India suggests that the tourists will face a tough task. The bulk of responsibility for scoring runs is likely to fall on the usual suspects, who have in the past made huge scores on benign pitches but struggled in difficult conditions. As for the bowlers, only Murali has a strong track record in India, so the others will need to step up if the side are to succeed. Herath should edge out Mendis for the second spin slot, although the latter’s magical showing against the same opposition last year may inspire his inclusion at some stage.

For the hosts, Zaheer Khan’s return (along with Sreesanth) should revitalise the pace attack, whilst a chief concern could be adjusting back to Test cricket after more than six months of limited-overs matches. The lack of Test matches has been picked up on by the man of the hour, and many of the players in the side may take some time to realign their approaches.

This is a key series for India in their mission to become the best side in the world, and a series victory for the home side will be widely expected.

Part two of the Twenty20 Champions League Preview:

• The Bangalore Royal Challengers have almost as many South Africans in their squad as the sides representing that country (even without the injured Kevin Pietersen). Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Dale Steyn all feature, whilst Rahul Dravid demonstrated in this year’s IPL that there’s a role for him in Twenty20 cricket which doesn’t simply involve driving down the run-rate.

• Somerset’s preparation has been dominated by Marcus Trescothick’s return to India, with some of the coverage seemingly willing him to suffer a breakdown. Assuming all is well with Trescothick, he and Justin Langer make an experience opening pair, with possible future ‘England’ wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter also capable of making quick runs. It’s difficult to assess how well the English sides will do, but at first glance it seems a mighty task for Somerset to win the tournament.

• Sussex have a reasonably balanced side which was impressive during the English domestic Twenty20 Cup, with the batting of Michael Yardy and Ed Joyce and the bowling of James Kirtley particular highlights, with Luke Wright and to some extent Yasir Arafat capable both of adding runs and taking wickets at crucial moments. The side may struggle against some of the millionaire IPL teams, but perhaps greater experience of Twenty20 cricket will count in their favour.

• Trinidad & Tobago are arguably considerably stronger than the side which is representing the West Indies at the moment, with Dwayne Bravo one of the stars of the (now presumably defunct) Stanford 20/20 competition alongside spinner Dave Mohammed, and with Windies wicketkeeper Dinesh Ramdin also in the side.

• Wayamba have the experience of Mahela Jayawardene and the magic of Mendis. The latter will most likely bamboozle a number of players who are missing international experience, although he didn’t quite live up to his billing for Kolkatta in the IPL. The side look more like dark horses than front-runners, but, as I’ve already said, anything could happen over 20 overs.

• Victoria might suffer for the loss of Dirk Nannes, but David Hussey and Brad Hodge have the class to make an impact with the bat. Bryce McGain has another chance to make an impact outside of Australia following his disappointing Test ‘career’.

Yes, Sarcasm.

What I want is humilation.

I want Stuart Broad to start crying. I want Dilshan to Dilscoop him for a six each ball in a over, the last one being a no-ball, and then another six off the free hit with another Dilscoop. Go Dilshan, go one up on Yuvraj. Anything to take the piss off Broad.

How do I stop batsmen from treating me like fodder?

Mendis has an excellent first up record against most teams. You never know with England, he might end up taking a 10 for. If only Sangakkara would open with him. But records against England don’t count. Not worthy enough. And definitely not in odi’s.

Who remembers that match in England when England made 320 odd, and Sri Lanka chased it down in 38 overs. That would do, more abject the better.

It may feel like Ajantha Mendis has been around for ever (he’s already had a dramatic arrival on the international scene, followed by a relative fall from grace and then a minor resurgence), but it’s only about 15 months since he took 6-13 in the Asia Cup final. In that time, he is yet to bowl England’s batsmen, who nervously await in tomorrow’s Champions Trophy match.

Mendis bamboozled Graeme Smith with his first ball of Tuesday’s curtain-raiser, ending up with 3-30. With England struggling with the bat throughout the latter part of the summer, he may get a similar return tomorrow. Even if it doesn’t turn, Andrew Strauss’ stomach might.

Cricket’s newest Heart Break Kid, Tillakaratne Dilshan, has put hosts South Africa on the brink of elimination from the 2009 ICC Champions trophy after scoring a magnificent century in the tournament opener. Lets face it, the game was all about the Dilshtruction of the home side, who have had an extended break from cricket, even though Splendid Mendis did make an honest attempt to steal some of the limelight during the Saffer’s innings.

Once again, Mendis bamboozled a side that got to see him for the first time, and it was wonderful to watch that look we seen so many times on many a missionary’s face when they’ve entered a strip club for the first time, on a rather super-fit looking South African line-up (apart from Jacques Kallis, whose corset snapped when he attempted to bowl a bouncer). Meanwhile, an unidentified player scored 15 off 14 deliveries and took 2/43 to almost eclipse the very stylish 50 by King Sanga and scintillating 77 off 61 by Jayawardene.

The game looked well set to be thriller while Graeme Smith and Kallis laid into the seamers, but looked a total mismatch once the spinners were introduced. This wasn’t a very good game for SoaL’s Very Own AB deVilliers, in addition to an ordinary (by his standards anyway) innings he misfielded on more than a one occasion. It was almost worse for Wayne Parnell, who proved it is possible to get a hattrick with three shitty deliveries in a row, pity the third one was a good ball.

Back to Dilshan’s innings, well enough has been written in the blogosphere about the combination of genius, aggression, innovation etc etc . I can only add my little tidbits of inside information. You see, the Dilscoop is the most misunderstood stroke in international cricket. It did not just happen by accident. It is the culmination of years of sacrifice, all for the noble cause of paying tribute to a guru who succumbed to the vicious trap perpetrated by a nasty Australian wicketkeeper, who laid out a path of mars bars all the way back to the pavilion, thus destroying the enigma of self control that was the hallmark of a great teacher.

You can see this in Dilshan’s deliberate pause after the playing stroke, almost posing for the cameras, so that the great big one can appreciate that there are those who still are thankful for his contribution. It is not a stroke that any batsman can pull off, only those disciples with Samurai-like dedication can hope to successfully attain this level of batting extraordinaire.

You have been avenged, Arjuna-San

Poor Ajantha Mendis. Little more than a year ago he was the Next Big Thing, the Great White Hope, even the New Murali. Now, not only has he seemingly been usurped in the Sri Lankan pecking order of spinners by Rangana Herath, he may not even be the most prominent cricketing Mendis of the moment.

That distinction falls to Buddika Mendis, one of the stars of Singapore’s campaign in the World Cricket League Division 6 competition. The home side, coached by Trevor Chappell, have gained promotion to Division 5 with a game to spare largely due to the efforts ofthe tournament’s top run scorer so far, including 193 runs in the last two days.

Singapore will now be heading to Nepal next year for the next stage of qualification for the 2015 World Cup, with either Malaysia or Bahrain likely to join them.

Sri Lanka’s 2-0 series win over New Zealand now means that, if things don’t work out for South Africa against South Africa B England this winter, Kumar Sangakkara’s side could potentially end the year as the world’s top-ranked team if they win the series in India. If India were to win the series 2-0, then they would take the top spot.

India’s home record against Sri Lanka is impressive, with the tourists never having won a Test, but the side which is likely to tour will be very strong indeed. The emergence of Rangana Herath as a genuine spin threat in the series against the Black Caps means that there’s less dependence on Murali to constantly take wickets (which is handy, given Ajantha Mendis’ struggles), whilst the batting order has looked assured.

Thilan Samaraweera in particular has been making centuries with impressive regularity of late, and Dilshan’s elevation to opener seems to be a smart move. Could Sri Lanka be the world’s best? On their day, quite possibly.

Away from the tension, hype and seagulls (yes, honestly, seagulls) of the build-up to the final Ashes Test, New Zealand and Sri Lanka are preparing for a Test series of their own.

For most of the tourists, Test cricket in Sri Lanka will be a new experience (only three members of the Black Caps’ squad have played a Test in Sri Lanka before). Their recent record is a cause for concern – a mere four Tests won in the last two-and-a-half years (with three of those coming against Bangladesh). None of the likely front-line bowlers have much experience of Sri Lankan conditions, which may prove costly. The likes of Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder will be taking a step into the unknown, and – on recent form – New Zealand’s top order is hardly likely to set them up with a comfortable platform to do so.

The hosts will be comfortable favourites, and will be looking to sneak the Number 2 spot in the ICC Test Rankings. Ajantha Mendis looks set to miss out given Rangana Herath’s performances against Pakistan, whilst Murali returns to the side to worry New Zealand’s inexperienced batting line-up.

Anything other than a Sri Lankan series win would be a massive surprise.

Sri Lanka took a 2-0 series lead with victory over Pakistan in the second test of the three match series.

It was Sri Lanka from the word go as they dismissed Pakistan for 90 in their first innings, with Kulasekara taking 4-21, Thushara 2-21, Mendis 3-20 and Mathews 1-15. Shoaib Malik’s 39* was the top score in an innings where only three people made it past ten runs.

A first innings lead was hardly expected of Pakistan, who would be trying to keep Sri Lanka’s score as low as possible. Umar Gul and Saeed Amjal took 4-43 and 4-87 respectively, but an innings of 87 from Kumar Sangakarra helped to take Sri Lanka to 240, a lead of 150. A strong second innings show from Pakistan would be needed to make the game last longer, though it would be hard to get a substantial lead.

Things started off in a much better fashion for Pakistan. The first wicket to fall was that of Khurram Manzoor, who scored 38, which left the score at 85-1. Fawad Alam and the captain Younis Khan then took control, with Alam in particular being the highlight. In what was the best innings of the match, he scored 168 runs in a 200 run partnership. Younis Khan scored 82 of these, but then his wicket sparked a collapse. From being in a dominant position at 285-1, nine wickets fell in the space of 35 runs as Pakistan threw away the potential advantage they had. No other players passed ten, but Kulasekara took 4-37 and Herath 5-99 to make Sri Lanka’s target 171.

This they reached with ease, scoring at over five runs an over. Warnapura scored 54 at a strike rate around 100 to get Sri Lanka off to a safe start, then Sangakarra and Jayawardene finished the job with 46 and 37* runs respectively to give Sri Lanka a seven wicket win and an unassailable lead in the series.

Man of the Match: Nuwan Kulasekara for four wickets in both Pakistan innings, which were key to the Sri Lankan win.

Pakistan’s strong record in Sri Lanka is taking a beating. After the tourists’ collapse from a strong position in the First Test, they have managed to concede a first-innings deficit within less than a day’s play in the Second Test.

Kulasekara, Thushara and Mendis all finished with impressive figures for Sri Lanka as Pakistan made a mere 90 runs, with only three Pakistani batsmen making it into double figures (Shoaib Malik did hang around for more than two hours, but made only 39 not out). All this after Younis Khan won the toss and elected to bat.

In reply, the hosts passed Pakistan’s total in just over 26 overs, and now have a strangehold on the series, no mean feat given the big names that are absent from their side.

For Pakistan, it’s difficult to see a way back, and questions are already being asked about team selection and the batting order.

The Sri Lanka vs Pakistan test series began for a win for Sri Lanka in what was a low scoring match.

Many players made starts in Sri Lanka’s first innings, with seven players reaching at least 20 but none passing 100. It was the opener Paranavitana who top scored with 72 runs in a low total of 292. Mohammad Aamer was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers with 3-74, with Abdur Rauf, Younis Khan and Saeed Amjal all chipping in with two wickets each.

Pakistan looked to be struggling in reply to this total when they were 80-4, but Mohammad Yousuf – returned from ICL exile – led a recovery with Misbah-ul-Haq (56) to top score with 112 and lead the team safely past 200. Kulasekara was the best of the Sri Lankan bowlers, with 4-71, as Pakistan gained a 50 run lead with a score of 342.

Sri Lanka struggled again in their second innnings, again with some starts which they failed to capitalise on. No player went past fifty, but Tharanga Paranavitana again top scored and almost made it with 49 runs before falling to Aamer. Aamer again starred with three wickets for 38 runs, and Saeed Amjal also picked up 3-34 as Sri Lanka were all out for 217, giving Pakistan a low total of 167 to chase down.

Pakistan cruised to 36 without loss, when Ajantha Mendis struck for the first time. Younis Khan followed in the next over to Mathews, and Pakistan were then 39-2. In the next eight overs came a recovery from Pakistan, who made the two wickets look like just a minor blip. Then came the collapse. Yousuf and Butt fell in the same over to Herath, and the wickets kept on tumbling around them. Herath picked up 4-15 to inspire Sri Lanka to an improbable victory as they bowled out Pakistan for only 117 runs, a dramatic collapse after being 71-2. Mendis and Thushara also picked up two wickets each in a 50 run victory for Sri Lanka.

Man of the Match: Rangara Herath, for the four wickets that bowled Sri Lanka to victory.

Pakistan senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf, who returned to international cricket with a cracking century against Sri Lanka in the first Test, zoomed to the number one spot in the latest ICC Test Rankings.

After snapping his ties with the rebel Indian Cricket League, Yousuf marked his return to the national team in style, hitting a pivotal 112 in the first innings at Galle.

The numero uno status, which Yousuf attained toppling his skipper Younis Khan, gives Pakistan a 1-2 position in the table for the first time since the rankings were introduced in June 1987.

Yousuf was second when he was removed from the rankings table early in 2009 as Pakistan had not played a Test match since before the qualification date for the rankings.

Even though Yousuf with the bat, Pakistan made a mess of things on the fourth day of the Test when it lost eight wickets for 46 runs to lose by 50 runs while chasing a modest 168-run target.

Younis, who scored 25 and 3 in the Test, paid the price for his failures as he not only dropped to second position but also conceded 30 valuable points.

His Sri Lankan counterpart Kumar Sangakkara, who scored 9 and 14, also faced the brunt of a poor Test, after being dropped two places to fifth position.

Sangakkara’s fall has benefitted Indian opener Gautam Gambhir and Shivnarine Chanderpaul of West Indies. Both the left-handers have moved up one place each to occupy third and fourth places respectively.

Thilan Samaraweera has dropped out of the top 20 after slipping two places to 22nd, Tillekeratne Dilshan had fallen two places to 27th, Kamran Akmal has dropped one position to 30th and Salman Butt has slipped to 52nd position after losing two places.

Among the Test bowlers, Pakistan pacer Umar Gul have dropped four places to 18th position while Sri Lanka spin wizard Ajantha Mendis slipped three places to 28th spot.

However, Galle Test’s surprise hero Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who took 4-15 in the second innings, has jumped eight places to 48th position.

Pakistan left-arm pacer Mohammad Aamer, who had returned with a figure of 6-117, has entered the table in 60th position while Younis, who had figures of 2-23 and 2-27, has zoomed 29 places to 83rd spot.

Jacques Kallis continues to lead the Test all-rounders list with Mitchell Johnson of Australia in second and New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori in third position.

Sri Lankan spin sensation Ajantha Mendis has signed for the South Australia Redbacks in this season’s domestic Twenty20 competition,on Tuesday.

High performance manager Jamie Cox said securing the 24-year-old, whose unorthodox style helped Sri Lanka reach last month’s World Twenty20 final, was a huge boost for his side.

“It was proven in the World Twenty20 that spin bowling has a massive part to play, and Ajantha was always our number one target,” Cox said.

“The shorter the game the more important it is to have a point of difference and he certainly provides that.”

Mendis’ huge variety of deliveries has left batsmen mystified since he emerged on the international scene last year and he has remarkable figures of 23 for 198 in his 10 Twenty20 internationals, with a strike rate of 9.9.

Other international stars playing in Australia’s ‘Big Bash’ competition include Mendis’ Sri Lanka team-mate Lasith Malinga, Shahid Afridi of Pakistan and West Indian pair Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo.

Cox said South Australia also hoped to sign retired Australian great Adam Gilchrist, although he conceded the big-hitting wicketkeeper was more likely to play for his home state of Western Australia.

Absurd stuff. Comic stuff. My eyes lit up when I checked the score card to confirm Pak victory. And what I saw was total out of blue. 98 for 8 and then all out for 117. Only Pakistan can do this. This is master of all collapses. Mother father grandfather and great grandfather of all collapses. England had it in 1990s, today it was Pakistan. Younis Khan must be a shattered man. I feel for him. He got his team to this stage where one good partnership would have sealed it for the team. But the others weren’t even half as responsible as the captain. What a crap performance. 71/2 to 117 on a batting beauty. No Murali. Pakistan wont get chance better than this to beat SL. Past record is all fine. Talking of present, the king of spin would return next match and then it would be just impossible for Pak rookies to repeat the first 3 days of this Test match.

Q and other stani bloggers must be feeling disgusting and Damith would be enjoying and relishing this victory. No body would have thought this would happen. Typical Pakistan stuff, and that’s why we need them to keep playing cricket. T20 or Tests or ODIs. No other team can go to this extreme. Once again Pakies succumbed to left arm spin. 4/15 in 12 overs is a credible stuff. And how many did that selfish batsman made ? Just 12. He was the most experienced batsman or Test cricketer in his team and he went soon. Century made, team goes to hell. I proved my point. Result who bothers. Now it would be keen to see what the likes of Akram, Miandad and other stalwarts say of this.

Pakistan lost it more than SL won. That’s how the cricket is. A great leveler. Who would know it better than Mendis and Pakistan team. T20 win and now a test loss which they should have never lost. One last thing Mendis is now proved to be a very ordinary bowler. His average has now been normalized. 26 in 3 to 36 in 7. He should be ready for some more mauling later this year as he tours India – a land where his team has never won a Test match. Tendulkar and company would be very keen to make amends for what he did to them last year same tsime. Laxman, Tendulkar, Dravid and Yuvraj making merry of Mendis, not to forget Sehwag.