A harsh Saturday sun beat down on the Greenfield International Stadium, winter nowhere in evidence as the capital city of Kerala braced for India’s final ODI against Sri Lanka. It’s a game with pride at stake for both teams—having already taken a winning 2-0 lead, India will seek to extend their awesome record at home by making a clean sweep, while Sri Lanka, who have had their moments on this short white-ball tour, will want another ‘W’ to show for all their efforts.

10 home series wins v Lanka

Thursday’s nervy four-wicket victory at the Eden Gardens took India to their 10th ODI home series triumph against the 1996 World Cup champions, as extraordinary a record as the fact that India have won 22 of the last 25 ODI series in their own backyard. Even accounting for the familiarity with conditions, that’s a jaw-dropping statistic, a tribute to the strength and resilience of teams over the last 12 years under different skippers and managements.