In August 2008, India was victorious for the first time in a bilateral one day series in Sri Lanka. India needed 23 long years to achieve this feat. Within a time span of less than half a year, the India is on the verge of a repeat act. If it wins the ODI on 3rd February 2009 at the Premadasa Stadium, it will hit two birds with one stone. Firstly, India will seal the ongoing series. Secondly, the team would equal the longest winning sequence of India in ODIs, which is 8. At this juncture, the captain of India, Mahendra Dhoni has warned the team not to remain self satisfied. He added that the Indian batsmen had faced Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis satisfactorily in the initial two matches, but this duo was still a threat in the remaining matches. 
History lets Sri Lanka down
The task of Sri Lanka seems tough due to two reasons. First is that the Indian side is playing professionally and efficiently. Second is the history of five match series. After being 2-0 down, only two teams have bounced back in 84 five match series. The first team is South Africa while playing against Pakistan in 2003 and the second is Bangladesh while playing against Zimbabwe in 2005. 
Positive points for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has its own reasons to feel optimistic. Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, is back in form and has ended his bad patch with a fighting fifty. Thilina Kandamby has boosted up the morale of the middle order. The Sri Lankan bowlers are performing up to the mark. If the strategy of propelling Tillakaratne Dilshan up the batting order is successful, Sri Lanka’s chances of winning this encounter would increase.
Objects of attraction
Suresh Raina of India would be watched closely by fans in this match. The reason is that although there are a bunch of young cricketers eyeing a place in the middle order, he has been successful in maintaining his place. His batting has been impressive and his fielding has been electric. He has also bowled some tidy offspin overs. Another player who would be looked upon with great expectations is Thilina Kandamby. He has been included in the team after a gap of 4 years. In the previous match on Saturday, he scored a flawless 93 and brought his team close to victory.
Pitch report
Although, the track to be used for the third ODI is different from the track used in the second ODI, there are expectations that both the tracks behave in an identical way. During the first few overs under the lights, the pace bowlers would get some help from the pitch. It seems likely that the sides would be able to score 260 runs.
Interesting facts
The Indian skipper has won 7 out of the previous 8 tosses against Sri Lanka. In his last 18 innings, Chamara Kapugedera of Sri Lanka has failed to make a fifty.