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With the 3-match ODI series between India and Sri Lanka already sealed by the Men in Blue after winning the first two matches, it was time for the dead rubber on Friday. As both the captains walked out for the toss in the final ODI at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, all eyes were on Shikhar Dhawan if he could finally get the coin flip on his side.
Team India had been forced to bowl first in the first two matches of the series as the Indian skipper had notably lost the toss on both the occasions. Although India chased down the target and won the first two matches to seal the series, they were still looking for an opportunity to give their exciting batting line-up a chance to put runs on the board.
Captain Dhawan finally wins the toss
As Dasun Shanaka flipped the coin in air, Dhawan called heads and looked carefully as to how things were panning out. As soon as the match referee revealed that India have won the toss, 'Gabbar' did something which left everyone around him in splits. The captain of Men in Blue produced his famous Kabaddi-style celebration (Thigh Five) as the opposition captain, match referee and presenter HD Ackerman had a hearty laugh. Dhawan's celebration also notified everyone on the field that India have won the toss as his teammates cheered from far away.
Watch the video here:
Dhawan confirms six changes in Indian side
Ahead of the toss, it had already been confirmed that the Men in Blue will have five debutants in their side as Sanju Samson, Rahul Chahar, Krishnappa Gowtham , Nitish Rana and Chetan Sakariya had been handed their ODI caps. Dhawan also revealed that Navdeep Saini also makes his way back into the side to round off the six changes for the final ODI. Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar and Kuldeep Yadav were the players making way for the new faces.
As India opted to bat first, they got off to a quick-fire start as their score read 35/1 in 4 overs. The luck during the toss did not transpire onto the field as Indian captain Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed on 13 by Dushmantha Chameera.