One might think India hold all the aces going into the 5-match ODI series against Sri Lanka after thrashing the hosts, 3-0 in Tests but believe it or not, the limited-overs leg will be far more competitive and interesting.
Upul Tharanga’s first series as the new official Sri Lanka ODI and T20I captain is no doubt a daunting challenge for him and his team who have not won a home ODI series since November, 2015. He was brilliant at number 4 against Zimbabwe in a losing series but looked dreadfully out-of-form opening the batting in Tests yet urged the fans to stick with them in a press release in one of the ‘toughest’ times for Sri Lanka Cricket.
The Test series looked awfully one-sided which dented every Sri Lankan fan’s hopes, confidence and faith in cricket but with the ODIs starting this weekend in Dambulla, the Lions will try to rise from the ashes with renewed hopes to give a good run to the Indians.
The History
Since 1979, India and Sri Lanka have played 150 ODIs with India winning 83 and Sri Lanka winning 55 but in Sri Lanka, the records differ with the hosts winning 27 out of 56 while the visitors have won only on 23 occasions.
Read : Sri Lanka vs India ODI Series 2017 – Let’s talk Numbers
There was a time in the past decade where Sri Lanka vs India used to play each other twice every year but the last time Sri Lanka hosted India in ODI cricket was in 2012 and the most recent bilateral series happened in 2014 where India whitewashed Sri Lanka, 5-0 in India. The last time Sri Lanka won a bilateral ODI series against India was in 1997.
ICC World Cup 2019 – Qualification Battle
Sri Lanka are currently ranked 8 with 88 points while the visitors are at number 3 position with 114 points. After the 3-2 defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe last month, the gap between Sri Lanka and the number 9 ranked nation, West Indies have been trimmed to just 10 points.
Hosts England and the seven highest ranked teams at the cut-off date of September 30, 2017, receive direct qualification for the next World Cup. Sri Lanka need to win 2 or more matches against India to automatically qualify for the ICC’s pinnacle 50-over tournament Irrespective of the result from England and West Indies next month.
If India defeats Sri Lanka by 4-1, then West Indies must win all five matches against England. If India sweeps all five ODIs against Sri Lanka, then the Windies will need to beat England by 4-0 or better.
It is highly unlikely that West Indies will challenge England in their own backyard but cricket is a funny game hence Sri Lanka must decide their own fate by winning at least 2 games if they failed to win the series. From the Indian point of view, they need a 5-0 whitewash to climb the ladder to number 2.
Read : Sri Lanka’s best knocks in ODIs against India
‘Chasing’ fortune
Sri Lanka’s only spark in the disappointing ICC Champions Trophy 2017 campaign happened on 8th June at the Oval when they thumped the eventual tournament runners-up India by 7 wickets in a record breaking chase in which was the only ODI played between these two countries in the last 30 months.
Two key members from that Sri Lankan lineup, Asela Gunaratne and Kusal Janith Perera who played pivotal roles in UK will be missed in this series due to injuries but the Lankan ability to chase down big scores will be on the back of the Indian minds.
Since 2015, 21 ODI matches have been played in Sri Lanka and 15 out of those have been won by the team batting second therefore both teams will be pondering to bat first during this series.
Malinga vs Kohli
Since 2009, Malinga and Kohli have been involved in 21 matches and the current Indian captain has only been dismissed once by the Lankan fast-bowler in ODI cricket. Kohli’s rise to prominence during the early parts of this decade has mainly been against Sri Lanka. He averages 77 against Sri Lanka in 21 matches, the most he has batted second in his career despite his overall batting second average being 66.
Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka’s premier fast bowler who is on the verge of playing 200 ODIs and taking 300 wickets, (Currently 199 matches, 298 wickets) has the worst average against India, 41.92 regardless of his overall 28.39 average.
This Kohli vs Malinga dual will be very interesting during the next couple of weeks as it can have a large impact on the outcome of the series. Malinga’s form has become a necessity for Sri Lanka who are without two of their best fast-bowlers in recent times, Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal due to injuries.
Read : Sri Lanka vs India – Most memorable ODIs
‘Tried & Tested’ Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s injury problems prompted the selectors to recall the likes of Thisara Perera, Milinda Siriwardena and Chamara Kapugedara into the lineup. They have a lot to prove and become match-winners for Sri Lanka if they are to make any justice to their selection.
The only settled thing about Sri Lanka is their top five batsmen who performed well against Zimbabwe, especially the full of flair opening pair of Danushka Gunathilaka and Niroshan Dickwella. The two left-handers should provide substantial opening stands to help the Lankan cause in at each game atleast.
The spin attack, Akila Dananjaya, Malinda Pushpakumara, Lakshan Sandakan and Wanindu Hasaranga are inexperienced in every aspect of the game and to handle a strong Indian batting line-up will be a monumental task for them.
Former captain Angelo Mathews did not do much during the Test-series, playing as a batsman but now he is expected to bowl some overs, provide some balance to the Lankan ODI setup. He scored two fifties and a century (his only century in ODIs) in the last Indo-Lanka bilateral series in 2014 and anchored the chase in the Champions Trophy with an unbeaten fifty. Sri Lanka desperately want Mathews to fire in all three departments and stand up as one of the senior players.
Full Squad
Upul Tharanga (Captain), Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Chamara Kapugedera, Milinda Siriwardana, Malinda Pushpakumara, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan, Thisara Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando.
‘Confident’ India
As much as they are invincible in Tests currently, the Indians are very much beatable in limited-overs cricket. They beat West Indies 3-1 after losing out to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final but man of the series in the Caribbean, Ajinkya Rahane might miss out on his place.
Read : Sri Lanka’s best bowling performances in ODIs against India
Rohit Sharma, the new vice-captain is set to open the batting with Shikhar Dhawan, the star in the Tests while KL Rahul who last played a limited-overs game for India in February 2017 is expected to slot in at number 4.
MS Dhoni, Kedhar Jadav and Hardik Pandya provides massive fire-power down the order although the bowling attack looks thin despite having Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav as they will struggle to defend a below-par score on batting friendly Lankan surfaces.
Full Squad
Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
ODI Fixtures
1st ODI – 20th August – Dambulla – 2.30 pm (D/N)
2nd ODI – 24th August – Pallakelle – 2.30 pm (D/N)
3rd ODI – 27th August – Pallekelle – 2.30 pm (D/N)
4th ODI – 31st August – R. Premadasa – 2.30 pm (D/N)
5th ODI – 3rd September – R. Premadasa – 2.30 pm (D/N)
