Sri Lanka last played an ODI against India in November, 2014 during a hurriedly organized five-match series, which resulted in a 5-0 thrashing for the islanders.
After 935 days, the familiar foes will renew their rivalry tomorrow, 8th June at The Oval Grounds, London in a must-win clash for Sri Lanka to keep their ICC Champions Trophy 2017 hopes alive.
History
This will be the 150th Sri Lanka-India ODI clash since the famous 1979 Lankan victory in Manchester which is also the only instance where Sri Lanka defeated India in an ODI match in England. The most recent game between these two nations in the United Kingdom was during the last ICC Champions Trophy semi-final in Cardiff, where India comfortably rolled over Sri Lanka by 8 wickets. In the past 149 encounters, India has won on 83 instances with Sri Lanka only winning 54 encounters.
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Recent form
Sri Lanka has had a rough road in the UK thus far, recording only a solitary win against Scotland in a practice game after they were ambushed by the same opponents in the 1st of 2 games. They were beaten by Australia and New Zealand in the consequent warm-up games and last Saturday, a batting collapse saw them going down to South Africa by 96 runs in the first Group B encounter of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. Sri Lanka has won only 7 of the 28 ODI matches they have played since the beginning of 2016 while losing 16 games; 4 games ended as no-results and 1 ended as a tie.
The defending champions, India has been playing exceptional cricket since they touched down in the land of the queen. They defeated New Zealand and Bangladesh comprehensively in their warm-up matches and thrashed arch-rivals, Pakistan by 124 runs (D/L method) in their 1st Group Game to stamp their authority early in the tournament. India, since the start of 2016 has played only 17 ODIs, winning 10 and losing 7.
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Sri Lanka
The Sri Lanka camp is heading into the must-win encounter against their prolific neighbours with mixed emotions. They were good in the field against the Proteas to restrict them to below 300 but Sri Lanka’s inability to chase down the target has put immense pressure on an under-fire, inexperienced batting unit.
Stand-in leader for Saturday’s game and Sri Lanka’s most experienced batsman, Upul Tharanga was suspended harshly by ICC for a slow over-rate causing a lot of chaos in the camp as the in-form opener is set to miss the next two crucial games but the return of regular skipper Angelo Mathews to their middle-order will give the islanders some hope
Mathews last made an ODI appearance back in August, 2016 and since then has been hampered by multiple leg injuries, recently with the calf muscle on his right leg. He is expected to play as a pure batsman yet his presence in the middle will do a world of good for Sri Lanka. He made a crisp 95 against Australia in a warm-up game at the same venue and his experience was severely missed in the tournament opener.
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Kusal Perera who made a responsible yet out-of-character 44* in the middle order against the Proteas will join the flamboyant Niroshan Dickwella at the top of the order for this clash. The two left-handers will be itching to take on the high-riding Indian seam attack and neutralize their threat.
Dickwella is renowned to provide blistering starts with extravagant shots behind square but this time around with Tharanga out of the fray, he will need to play the long game and go for a big one. Kusal Mendis who will play his first international game against India holds the key at number 3.
Sri Lanka will consider bringing back all-rounder Thisara Perera into the lineup in place of Chamara Kapugedara who made a golden duck last Saturday. Perera’s inclusion will provide a 6th bowling option to Mathews and late order hitting muscle but the brittleness in the middle order might tempt the selectors to retain the specialist batsman in Kapugedara. If India decides to go with only the left-arm spin of Ravindra Jadeja, having another left-handed hitting option in Thisara Perera will be beneficial for the Lankans.
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Mathews will be encouraged by his bowlers, especially the seamers, who bowled exceptionally well against South Africa. Nuwan Pradeep was the most impressive of the three, giving away only 54 runs from his full quota of 10 overs and accounting for 2 wickets. Pradeep has been a silent revelation of late doing his job perfectly without much hype. Lasith Malinga went wicketless against the Proteas but will look to bring his ‘A’ game as takes on the likes of Kohli, Yuvraj and Dhoni.
Probable XI – Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Janith Perera, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews (Captain), Asela Gunarathne, Thisara Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep.
India
The Indian juggernaut is a well-oiled terminator. They have covered up all departments and will start as undisputed favourites against a battered Sri Lankan unit. In Virat Kohli, India has a charismatic, aggressive leader who knows how to extract the best out of his players.
The opening combination of Rohit Sharma-Shikhar Dhawan has prospered yet again and as in the past, they will be essential to lay a solid foundation. Kohli has been in prime form, especially in the shorter formats of the game and Yuvraj Singh provides the ‘X’ factor at number 4. Against Pakistan in Birmingham, all four top order batsmen surpassed the 50-run mark with Sharma top scoring with 91 and Singh recording a 29-ball fifty, India’s record for the fastest half-ton in ICC Champions Trophy history.
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The young all-rounder Hardik Pandya can provide the late order punch and also chip in with some overs along with his fabulous fielding. He has lived up to expectations to become the number 1 fast-bowling all-rounder for India. How Pandya takes on his Mumbai Indians team mate, Lasith Malinga in the death overs will be fascinating to watch.
Ravichandran Ashwin who has the most number of wickets (32) against Sri Lanka from the current squad was left out against Pakistan but they might try to ropehim in place of Kedhar Jadav. Despite this, tinkering with a winning formula is not Kohli’s way. With not much spin on offer on English surfaces, Jadeja has the ability to tie down the runs along with the firing three-pronged seam attack of Bhuveneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah.
Probable XI – Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Kedhar Jadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah.
Semi-final scenario
With the South Africa-Pakistan clash being played today in Birmingham, a Proteas’ win would make the Sri Lanka vs India game a must win one for the Islanders. If Pakistan wins, Sri Lanka will stay alive in the competition even if they lose to India in the event that the defending champions go on to beat South Africa as well. With rain expected today and tomorrow, all four Group B teams are still in the run to qualify for the semi-finals.
