Sri Lanka vs India, 5th ODI - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Early blow

He made a promising start to the series by scoring a half-century but since then the scores have witnessed a decline. Here again, on a pitch that already looks like a belter, Dickwella wastes a chance to make an impact as Bhuvneshwar strikes early on his return. He bowls the knuckle ball that foxes the left-hander, who chips it back at the bowler. Munaweera is the new man in.

Changes galore

Sri Lanka have won the toss and even though there is a cloud cover, they have opted to bat first which is surprising. With rain forecast, DLS could come into play as well. Tharanga has come in for Kusal Mendis as expected but India have four changes to their playing XI.

Ajinkya Rahane, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kedar Jadhav are back in the XI so KL Rahul has faced the axe after failing to make a mark in the series. Dhawan, Hardik and Axar are the other players to miss out.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli(c), Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni(w), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Niroshan Dickwella(w), Upul Tharanga(c), Dilshan Munaweera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Milinda Siriwardana, Wanidu Hasaranga, Akila Dananjaya, Malinda Pushpakumara, Vishwa Fernando, Lasith Malinga

Good sign

"The covers have been removed off the square. There are still a couple of covers on the outfield. Two supersoppers removing the water on those covers. Meanwhile, the players are out on the field now to start their pre-match drills," says our correspondent Gokul from the venue.

Drizzle delays toss

Not an ideal way to begin proceedings! There is a slight drizzle out in the middle which has invariably delayed the toss. Looks like the drizzle has subsided! If the rain stays away, the toss will happen at 2.30 with the first ball scheduled to be bowled at 3. So there is a half an hour delay.

Rain might interrupt

We might witness a shortened game considering rain is forecast from late afternoon. There is also an option of reserve day, that will be considered if needed. Hopefully, the rain gods stay away!

Build up

The tour has witnessed only one result in every single game so far. And things are unlikely to change today even though India might want to take it slightly easier having taken an unassailable 4-0 lead. And if things indeed go in the direction that it is widely expected to, then the visitors will become the first nation to whitewash Sri Lanka in a bilateral series in their own backyard. Now that is one embarrassing record the hosts wouldn't want against their name.

Having already been smashed 3-0 in the Tests, the last thing they would want is their neighbours pummeling them to a 5-0 result. But it's been one way traffic for Sri Lanka since the first day of the tour. Things haven't gone their way with injuries and suspensions as well. They will have Upul Tharanga back at the helm for this final game and he might come in place of Kusal Mendis if the management decides to rest him.

For India, they will look to experiment a bit after handing Manish Pandey a game. He scored an unbeaten fifty to boost his chances of retaining his spot and now the pressure could firmly be on KL Rahul to make an impression. Ajinkya Rahane is also expected to get a game finally with Shikhar Dhawan leaving the tour to attend to his ailing mother.

Welcome to the live blog for this final match of the ODI series. Tweet in your opinions to @Narbavi and get them featured on our blog.

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