July 11, 2007	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 25, 1428

KANDY (Sri Lanka), July 10: Sri Lanka’s left-handed opening batsman Upul Tharanga has recovered from a fractured left heel and will play in the third and final cricket Test against Bangladesh on Wednesday, as the hosts aim to sweep the series 3-0.

Tharanga suffered the injury while facing team-mate Lasith Malinga during a practice session and missed the first two Tests in Colombo.

“Upul is our number one choice for the opener’s role. So one of the other openers will have to sit out,” Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene told reporters.

Stand-in openers Michael Vandort and Malinda Warnapura have done well in the first two Tests and it will be a tough decision for the selectors to chose who will partner Tharanga.

Vandort scored a century in the first Test at the SSC Ground while Warnapura, another left-hander, scored 82 in the second Test at P. Saravanamuttu Stadium after getting a first ball duck in the first match.

“At the moment, its touch and go between Michael Vandort and Malinda Warnapura. Well take a decision later in the day,” Jayawardene said.

Veteran seamer Chaminda Vaas returning to play for English county Middlesex has opened a chance for 22-year-old Farveez Maharoof to play in the third Test while the selectors are also considering giving left-arm seam bowler Sujeeva de Silva his first match in five years.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, are likely to make two changes to the side that lost the second Test.

They are likely to bring in left-arm seamer Syed Rasel to replace Mohammad Sharif, who failed to take a wicket in the previous Test and batsman Tushar Imran may come in for Mehrab Hossain Junior.

Bangladesh are looking to salvage some pride after two disastrous games in Colombo. They lost the first Test by an innings and 234 runs and the second game by an innings and 90 runs.

But one positive for the tourists was a record breaking partnership between captain Mohammad Ashraful and teenage batsman Mushfiqar Rahim. The pair added 191 runs for the sixth wicket, a new Bangladeshi record for any wicket against any country.

“We certainly had a few positives coming out in the last Test. We will try to keep on improving. We know that we can do better,” Ashraful said.

“One of the areas that we have to improve on is to show a lot of patience in playing test cricket,” he added.

“The partnership helped us to drag the game further. It also gave a couple of guys confidence. At one moment we looked set to take the game to the fourth day. But one wicket fell and from thereon we lost the way a bit.”

So far Bangladesh have been hounded by their repeated first innings failures.

The hosts are firm favourites to secure their 10th successive victory over Bangladesh despite the threat of rain.

The tourists are under no illusion they can prevent a clean sweep. All they want to do is bat out the opening day if they are again given first strike on a pace-friendly Asgiriya stadium wicket.

Bangladesh were shot out for 89 and their lowest total of 62 on the opening days of the previous two Tests after being sent in to bat.

Bangladesh managed 254 and 299 in the second innings of the two Tests to raise hopes that all is not lost against one of the most formidable attacks in world cricket, led by the prolific Muttiah Muralitharan.

Ashraful and teenager Mushfiqur Rahim softened the second Test defeat by their record partnership of 191 for the sixth wicket, Bangladesh's best ever in the 48 Tests they have played so far.

Ashraful made an unbeaten 129, his fourth Test century and the third against Sri Lanka, while the 18-year-old Mushfiqur hit 80 in a splendid rearguard action.

Bangladesh have been let down by the poor performance of the two senior pros, former captain Habibul Bashar and left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique.

Habibul, who was sacked as captain for this tour, gets a final chance to save his international career after making just 36 runs in four innings.

Rafique, just six scalps away from becoming the first Bangladeshi to capture 100 Test wickets, has managed just one wicket in the first two Tests at the cost of 272 runs.

Off-spinner Muralitharan, who took 14 wickets in the first two matches, begins his home town Test just 20 scalps away from equalling retired Australian spinner Shane Warne's world record tally of 708.

The first two Tests escaped the monsoon rains, but thundershowers have been forecast in this hill resort on all five days of the Test.

Teams (from):

SRI LANKA: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Upul Tharanga, Michael Vandort, Malinda Warnapura, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Silva, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Prasanna Jayawardene, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Malinga Bandara, Sujeeva de Silva.

BANGLADESH: Mohammad Ashraful (captain), Javed Omar, Shahriar Nafees, Rajin Saleh, Habibul Bashar, Mehrab Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shahadat Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Rafique, Mohammad Sharif, Abdur Razzak, Khaled Mashud, Saqibul Hasan, Syed Rasel.

Umpires: Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) and Suresh Shastri (India).

TV umpire: Ranmore Martinez (Sri Lanka).

Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand).—Agencies