Will or not it’s one other mismatch as Sri Lanka and India change to ODIs?

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Huge image: SL hit by accidents and sickness

Sri Lanka simply cannot catch a break. Whereas nonetheless reeling from the virtually comical nature of the defeat within the last T20I, one which handed India a 3-0 collection sweep – and probably a large number of nervous breakdowns to these watching, their preparations for the ODI leg have been hampered considerably by the harm or illness-related absence of at least 5 of their quick bowlers.

This has meant that the uncapped Mohamed Shiraz and Eshan Malinga have been referred to as as much as hopefully – holding all fingers and toes crossed right here – present help for the one different match seamer within the squad in Asitha Fernando, and the all-round stylings of Chamika Karunaratne.

The one silver lining in all that is that it’d, nonetheless briefly, take their minds off the final two instances these sides met in a 50-over contest, the place Sri Lanka collectively scored 105 runs. The truth is, throughout their final 4 ODI conferences, Sri Lanka have failed to achieve triple digits on three events.

That stated, their greatest plan of action is perhaps to not put an excessive amount of inventory within the outcomes of those upcoming video games. Their subsequent main ODI match is the World Cup in 2027 – they didn’t make it to the 2025 Champions Trophy – so specializing in the method and seeking to put in place the appropriate foundations could be the proper play in the interim.

By way of current kind, Sri Lanka have had success in ODIs this 12 months towards Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, however their final ODI win towards India was again in July 2021. That consequence had introduced an finish to a five-match shedding streak towards India – the truth is, every of Sri Lanka’s final three ODI victories towards India have are available service of disrupting five-game shedding streaks. So in case you are on the lookout for a straw to clutch onto, Sri Lanka’s present shedding streak to India in ODIs stands at six. One thing’s certainly gotta give, proper?

So far as India go, that is simply the following step in a pristinely mapped-out path to the Champions Trophy. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are again within the fold, with the workforce’s major give attention to ironing out kinks and settling into a pleasant workforce mixture. You additionally think about they are going to be quietly hoping for a sterner problem than what was on supply within the T20Is.

Type information

Sri Lanka LWLWW (final 5 ODIs, most up-to-date first)
India WLWLW

Within the highlight: Pathum Nissanka and Kuldeep Yadav

It is clear that Sri Lanka are nonetheless struggling to rectify their longstanding middle- and lower-order struggles; a lot of their current success has been borne out of top-order contributions. The first supply of this has been Pathum Nissanka. His 497 runs throughout six ODIs is comfortably probably the most by any batter on this planet this 12 months. Not simply that, his strike price of 122.41 can also be the most effective amongst these with at the very least 200 runs. Sri Lanka will want Nissanka on the prime of his sport if they’re to problem this well-rounded Indian outfit.

With the motion transferring from Kandy to Colombo, the stability between bat and ball must also shift. The Khettarama has historically been one the place scores of 300 or extra are on the rarer facet, with spin tending to play a pivotal function. Enter Kuldeep Yadav, who performed an necessary half in India’s current T20 World Cup triumph however sat out the T20Is towards Sri Lanka. Whereas Ravi Bishnoi and, notably, Riyan Parag impressed in his stead, Kuldeep will likely be eager to make his mark on the tour.

Workforce information: Rohit, Kohli, Kuldeep return

Sri Lanka’s fast-bowling contingent is in disarray, however with the wicket prone to favour spin they might choose to go in with simply the 2 frontline seamers. Offered they need an additional spin possibility, Dunith Wellalage is perhaps most popular over Chamika Karunaratne.

Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis, 3 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 4 Kamindu Mendis, 5 Charith Asalanka (capt), 6 Janith Liyanage, 7 Dunith Wellalage/Chamika Karunaratne, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Mohamed Shiraz/Eshan Malinga, 11 Asitha Fernando

India’s prime order picks itself, nevertheless it’s decrease down the place there could also be some experimentation. With Hardik Pandya not a part of the ODI collection, considered one of Shivam Dube and Parag will fill in as a batting allrounder. If Parag will get the nod, India might need the posh of taking part in three frontline seamers, which means considered one of Khaleel Ahmed and the uncapped Harshit Rana might get a sport.

India (possible): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant/KL Rahul (wk), 6 Shivam Dube/Riyan Parag, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Khaleel Ahmed/Harshit Rana, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Pitch and circumstances: Rain within the air

If the current Lanka Premier League is to go by, the circumstances for batting might need improved in Colombo in comparison with current years, however there’s nonetheless a good quantity in it for the bowlers, notably the spinners. However getting an entire sport on Friday is perhaps difficult, with pockets of heavy rain anticipated all through the day.

Stats and trivia: India’s dominance

  • Solely Zimbabwe, Eire and Afghanistan amongst Full Members have a worse win-loss ratio towards India over the previous ten years than Sri Lanka. In that point India and Sri Lanka have performed 24 ODIs, with Sri Lanka profitable simply three.
  • Kohli’s 2594 runs are the second-most by an opposition batter towards Sri Lanka in ODIs. Sachin Tendulkar sits atop the checklist with 3113.
  • Because the begin of 2023, no batter has extra runs in ODIs than Nissanka’s 1648.

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