“It is a bit of difficultly with the make-up of our team. We have three specialist seamers, but we don’t have an all-rounder who can bat and bowl seam as well. The batting powerplays are important these days and we’ve realised that seamers are important then. At the same time, we also need to use three seamers in the first 15 overs because the ball swings a bit, so it’s difficult to use them in the middle overs,” said Kirsten.

The Indian batsmen have been adopting a similar strategy against Sri Lankan spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis in the middle overs — playing through their spells with the idea of keeping for a final onslaught. They haven’t fired so far in the batting powerplays, but have at least managed to take the sting out of Mendis and Murali, giving them just three wickets so far in the series.

Tuesday is the final chance for Sri Lanka to hit back, and they will hope to bridge the small distances left untravelled in the last match to keep the series alive.