With Ahmedabad's bore draw and Kanpur's Sri Lankan calamity out the way, the three-Test series finds a fitting balance as Mahendra Dhoni and Kumar Sangakkara's posse head into the third Test, starting on Wednesday.

As many as seven centuries - one of them a near triple-ton - at the Sardar Patel Stadium and India's procession through Green Park take a back seat to some less predictable competition, thanks to Brabourne Stadium - and it's unknown pitch - hosting the series decider.

And thank goodness for that.

Witnessing cricket on the dull dust bowls of the subcontinent is never a delightful prospect when New Zealand and Pakistan are playing out a thriller across the hemisphere and the Aussies and Windies are producing entertainment aplenty Down Under, but the unfamiliarity of a clash at the Brabourne should see it hold precedent over this week's Wellington and Adelaide contemporaries.

Fresh from their 100th Test win - a massive one at that - India go into the Mumbai showdown a man down in the form of faithful brother Gautam Gambhir's withdrawal but buoyed by the welcome resurgence of Shantha Sreesanth, who defied expectation with a match-winning performance of Ishant Sharma-esque proportions a handful of days ago.

A shot in the dark prior to his six wickets in Kanpur, Sreesanth now finds himself the spearhead of the Indian attack, leaving Zaheer Khan with the role of second-fiddle and Ishant smarting on the sidelines. An overnight transformation from limited-overs fringe selection to Test talisman, leaves the animated seamer the biggest threat to a Sri Lankan top-order oft-fragile in the face of mere marginal seam and deviance through the air.

Other than Murali Vijay in for Gambhir, India's winning formula might receive another slight tweak. There must surely be the temptation to bring in leg-spinner Amit Mishra for finger spinner Pragyan Ojha. Casting an eye to the long-term, Mishra seems the better bet and the underutilisation of Ojha at Green Park suggests as much.

More than capable of matching their counterparts in the batting ranks, Sri Lanka's only selection quandaries too come in the form of their bowling attack. Despite his indifferent form of late, Muttiah Muralitharan stays. Not since dinosaurs walked the earth have Sri Lanka considered dropping their prized spinner and a lean run in the wickets department isn't about to see him sidelined for Rangana Herath. Ajantha Mendis goes, instead.

Mahela Jayawardene stated in the pre-match banter the tourists "are going all out" to salvage their maiden Test win on Indian turf and such insistence beckons pace ace Dilhara Fernando to the starting XI. All-rounder Angelo Mathews, thus, might have to sit this one out as the brains trust look to couple southpaw seamer Chanaka Welegedera with a more worthy new-ball partner and Nuwan Kulasekara a better foil.

Arguably, more than the match or series result, the conclusion of the third Test needs to answer to questions for the great good of the longest format of the game: a) Are India worth their spot atop - or downright nigh - the top of the ICC's hallowed Test rankings? b) Given Sri Lanka have only played Test matches on the sub-continent across 2009, do they deserve their current ranking above the Aussies and English, who have both endured far more trying conditions this year.

Key Players

India: Gambhir's omission leaves a gaping void at the top of the Indian knock, one which Murali Vijay needs to step up and fill. Performing the anchor role, while Sehwag flays the attack around him, the relative rookie would do well to cement his spot as third-choice opener with a mature performance.

Sri Lanka: Dammika Prasad proved it in the first Test and Dilhara Fernando/Chanaka Welegedara, could do so in the finale: India are questionable at best in the face of the short ball. The Brabourne curator professes the track will offer life for the fast bowlers.

Prediction

History won't smile upon hopeful Sri Lanka, as a far more balanced and home ground-advantaged Indian outfit take it at a canter.

Last Five Head-To-Head Results

2009: Second Test: India won by an innings and 144 runs in Kanpur
2009: First Test: Match drawn in Ahmedabad
2008: Third Test: Sri Lanka won by eight wickets in Colombo
2008: Second Test: India won by 170 runs in Galle
2008: First Test: Sri Lanka won by an innings and 239 runs in Colombo

Likely Starting XIs

India: Murali Vijay, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Shantha Sreesanth, Amit Mishra.

Sri Lanka: Tharanga Paranavitana, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Prasanna Jayawardene, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilhara Fernando, Chanaka Welegedara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Rangana Herath.

Umpires: Daryl Harper and Nigel Llong
Match Referee: Jeff Crowe

Dates: 2-6 December; First Session: 04:00-06:00, Second Session: 06:40-08:40, Third Session: 9:00-11:00 (all times GMT)

Jonhenry Wilson