India vs Sri Lanka 5th ODI 2009: Preview and Live Score

Just one day after Indian cricket team will meet India to play the official 5^th ODI match on 27^th December 2009. This unimportant match will take place at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. Though this match does not have much importance to the cricket fans but many fans will see it live. Home team India has already won the series. Thanks to Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli’s century in the 4^th ODI match against Sri Lanka in Kolkata, they could ensure their victory with one match left to be played. India is leading the series by 3-1. Sri Lanka will try to reduce their gap after winning the dead rubber match.

I have seen many people to search on net to know the match start time. This match will kick off at 03:30 GMT (09:00 local time). You already know that it will be a day light game. It is the last ODI match for both India and Sri Lanka this year. After the end of ODI series both teams will tour Bangladesh to play a tri-nation tournament.

Fourth ODI match was a big chance for Sri Lankan cricket team to make their come back in the series. But they failed it. Sri Lanka chose to bat first after winning the toss. They scored 315 runs which was really big chasing score for Indian team. However, Indian batsmen successfully chase it. Two major players M S Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh were not included in the Indian squad. Even in form players like Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendular got early dismissed. But Sri Lankan bowlers could not make take the control of the match. It was an exciting and competitive match from first to last. India could reach the target with 11 balls remaining at hand. Gautam Gambhir scored unbeaten 150 and Virat Kohli scored 107. Later he was got out by S Randiv.

The good news is that M S Dhoni has returned in the Indian squad from two match suspension. His return will inspire Indian cricket team to play much better and finish 2009 with a victory. Until M S Dhoni has returned to the Indian cricket team, Virender Sehwag gave lead the national side successfully. He has proved that he is not only a good batsman but also good captain who has ability to lead his team.

What will happen to Dinesh Karthik? He replaced suspended player M S Dhoni for the last two ODI matches. Now, it has become sure that Dhoni will play in the fifth ODI match and Karthik will also stay in this squad. It is very exciting game for Indian openers. Delhi is the home ground for both Gambhir and Sehwag. They will be on fire in front of the home crowd. India’s most experienced batsman Sachin Tendulkar may take rest from Delhi ODI match. Dinesh Karthik will fill up this gap.

Both teams should think about the condition of pitch. According to curator, Feroz Shah Kotla will be batting friendly pitch. The total of 280 runs can be winning score for any team. Toss win can play a big role for tomorrow’s match.

TheSportsCampus reported:

The curator of Feroz Shah Kotla wicket for the final ODI between India and Sri Lanka has promised a sporting wicket, with a score of 280 plus expected to be a winning total. The ground owned by the Delhi District Cricket Association last hosted an ODI on October 30, 2009 when India beat Australia in a low scoring affair. The curator had come in a for a lot of flak last time around owing to the slow and sluggish nature of the track but if he is to believed it'll be a far better pitch this time around with something in it for everyone. The team that wins the toss would surely look to put the opposition in and make full use of the assistance provided by the pitch early on owing to a 9 o'clock start.

This match will be shown live on NEO Cricket. You can get live score from various websites. I have given some websites name in below-

action8cricket.com

cricbuzz.com

cricandcric.com

cric8.com

stickiewicket.com

cricket365.com

cricinfo.com

India looks much stronger than Sri Lankan cricket team. I hope India will finish this year with a victory.