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Debasis Sen, Pallekele: It seems nothing is going in favour of the Sri Lanka cricket team in the series so far. After ODI captain Upul Tharanga was ruled out, stand in captain Chamara Kapugedera is also doubtful for Sunday’s crucial clash against India here at the Pallekele International Stadium. Kapugedera, who hails from Kandy was hit in the arms by a net bowler today. Tharanga is serving a two match suspension from ICC after failing to complete the quota of overs in time during the second ODI. The visitors on the other hand looked quite relaxed after their thrilling win in the second ODI at the same venue on Thursday. The men in blue will look to wrap up the five-match series when they lock horns with a beleaguered Sri Lanka in the third One-day International here on Sunday. Virat and his team already have a 2-0 lead in the series and a win here tomorrow will also seal the ODI series in their favour. The Indian team had an optional practice session today with the fast bowlers given a break. The captain Virat Kohli too did not turn up for practice. He later tweeted a picture of his gym session at the hotel.

Workout for today, done! ✔️ pic.twitter.com/hIpmpIbAZm

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 26, 2017

The big question is if skipper Virat Kohli will continue with his bold approach when it comes to team strategy, if not team selection. Ahead of the second ODI, he had outlined the need to give ample opportunity to the youngsters in the side, particularly the bowlers. As such, it is only to be expected that Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal will continue to be front-line spinners then. The team management’s experimentation with the batting order did not click as the meagre run chase of 231 runs looked in danger. KL Rahul and Kedar Jadhav were sent ahead at number 3 and 4 respectively. The mini-experiment failed spectacularly, mostly because they couldn't read Akila Dananjay's googlies properly. The captain himself was beaten all ends up to the spin prodigy. It will be interesting to note whether Kohli will continue with his experimentation in the third match or not. As concerns changes to the playing combination, Hardik Pandya is in focus. In the lead-up to the second ODI, the all-rounder wore a light strap on his left knee, though the team management assured his full fitness. Later in the game, he pulled up with issues on the same left leg. While it appeared to be a calf problem for him, due to which he left the field on three occasions, again the team management outlined it as a cramp issue and not a major worry. Pandya's availability for the third ODI then remains a question mark at best. Even if cramped yet fully fit, will he be risked given the extended limited-overs' schedule India have until December? If not, then Kuldeep Yadav or Shardul Thakur could come into the reckoning as the fifth bowler, unluckily again for Manish Pandey as India will need someone to bowl Pandya's 10 overs. While India could yet field an unchanged combination, there are bound to be further changes for the Sri Lankan playing XI. Upul Tharanga has been handed a two-match suspension for slow over-rate for the second time since the Champions Trophy in June, and he will sit out the next two ODIs.