What happened the last time India played an ODI in Thiruvananthapuram?

After bagging the series in the second ODI, Team India are set to lock horns with Sri Lanka for the third and final one-day international. The encounter is scheduled to be played at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, January 15.

So far, Team India have played only one one-day international in Thiruvananthapuram, which they won in 2018. The Men in Blue have also participated in three T20Is at the said venue, winning twice and losing just once.

Situated in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, the pitch at the Greenfield Stadium is generally a pretty great batting track. The pitch offers almost little to no help for seamers, but spinners who bowl slowly can extract turn from this surface.

The last time India played an ODI in Thiruvananthapuram was in November 2018. The Greenfield Stadium hosted the fifth game of the five-match ODI series against West Indies, which India won by a scoreline of 3-1.

After winning the toss, Windies captain Jason Holder elected to bat but the decision went horribly wrong for the team. Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck in the first over of the match, dismissing Kieran Powell for nought.

Jasprit Bumrah, in the second over of the innings, removed Shai Hope (0) putting the visitors under pressure. Ravindra Jadeja then came on and clinched wickets of Marlon Samuels (24) and Shimron Hetmyer (9) reducing the Windies to 53 for four.

Skipper Holder (25) tried to steady the Windies' ship but Khaleel Ahmed and Kuldeep Yadav picked wickets at regular intervals, not allowing the Windies to make a comeback in the match.

Jadeja then wrapped up the tailenders, bundling the Windies out for a paltry 104/10 in 31.5 overs. For India, Jadeja was the most impressive bowler, ending with figures of 4-34. Bumrah (2-11) and Khaleel Ahmed (2-29) picked up two wickets each.

Chasing a meager total of 105, India completed the run-chase without breaking a sweat. Rohit Sharma led the team from the front, scoring an unbeaten 63 off just 56 balls and wrapping up the match in 14.5 overs.

Skipper Virat Kohli provided able support at the other end with his steady 33-run knock. Opener Shikhar Dhawan (6) was the only causality for the Indian team in the chase of a small target.

Ravindra Jadeja, for his wily bowling display, earned the Man of the Match award.

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Team India might rotate some players for the dead-rubber ODI on Sunday

Team India have already bagged the ODI series against Sri Lanka [Pic Credit: BCCI]

While Sri Lanka will only have pride to play for, Rohit Sharma and Co. will be aiming to continue their momentum and complete a possible whitewash in the series.

Having said that, the Men in Blue have a jam-packed cricketing schedule ahead of them which might entice them to ring in some changes for the third ODI.

Both Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan could be handed some game time, while the only left-arm pacer in the squad, Arshdeep Singh, could also get a look in. India will want to test their bench strength in the lead up to their ODI World Cup preparations.

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India's squad for the third ODI: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (VC), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, and Arshdeep Singh.