Sri Lanka vs India, 1st ODI preview: Can Kohli and co deny Lanka World Cup spot?
Dambulla: Batting line-up found wanting. Bowling attack looked out of sorts. Games never lasted more than four days. Innings defeats suffered. Test series lost. Miserably. To top that off, Sri Lankan cricket has continued to go from bad to worse as Virat Kohli’s men trounced the Islanders in the three-match Test series to register their first ever series clean sweep away from home; barely a month after Zimbabwe pulled the rug out from Angelo Mathews and co’s feet to win the ODI series in Sri Lanka.
While the captaincy and coaching have changed hands with Mathews deciding to relinquish the captaincy and Graham Ford pushed out post the ICC Champions Trophy, the Islanders are struggling to change their fortunes. The latest drubbing in the Test series is another low for Sri Lanka before the limited-overs leg commences at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla on Sunday against Kohli’s men.
Upul Tharanga, who had a horrid time in the Test series, will lead the Lankan side as it looks to turn the tables on pre-series favourites India. Sri Lanka, ranked 8th in the ICC ODI rankings, have a lot to ponder about from the team combination to strategies. More importantly though, their direct qualification for the 2019 ICC World Cup is at stake.
If the 1996 World Cup-winners want to get a direct entry, they must win at least two games out of the five ODIs. If they fail to do that, Sri Lanka, with 88 points against their name, will miss out on a direct entry in the 50-overs cricketing extravaganza in England, and West Indies will surpass them by decimal points to secure a direct entry.
While Sri Lanka will battle a lot of ifs and buts and permutations and combinations, India have their own share of problems. Unlike the hosts, however, theirs are problems of plenty with the likes of Manish Pandey, KL Rahul and Kedar Jadhav battling out for the two spots in the middle order. While Rahul is tipped to bat at number four, Pandey, following his tremendous form for India A in the tri-series in South Africa, has provided Kohli an option to choose from.
In this light, Jadhav’s second skill, spin-bowling, comes handy in addition to his big-hitting ability and makes him favourite to be a part of the playing XI. The competition is such that even Ajinkya Rahane, despite his four fifty plus scores in the five-match ODI series in West Indies, won't find a place in the playing XI.
With the top three – Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Kohli – and the lower-middle order – MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya are certain to retain their places, Indian batting looks in good shape.
While India have rested Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami for Sri Lanka ODIs and T20, the presence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah means the team has enough firepower in their arsenal with Pandya taking care of the third pacer role.
India also have a fourth pacer in their ranks, in the form of Shardul Thakur.
Kohli, meanwhile, has three spinners – Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal – to choose from. While Kuldeep, following his impressive show in West Indies and in the final Test against Sri Lanka, is certain to grab one spot, Chahal has an edge over Axar. With Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja rested for limited overs games, Kuldeep will like to stake his claim for a regular spot in India’s playing XI.
Sri Lanka have recalled Thisara Perera and Milinda Siriwardana to the squad while Malinda Pushpakumara and Vishwa Fernando are expected to make their ODI debuts. However, as it has been in the past, Lasith Malinga will be their go-to guy.
While their batsmen, barring Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis, failed to put up any resistance against India in the Test series, batting remains Lanka’s stronger suit. And despite all the chopping and changing, Sri Lanka can seek inspiration from their last ODI performance against India, where they defeated Kohli and co. in the ICC Champions Trophy.
Squads:
Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga (captain), Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella (wicketkeeper), Dhanushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Chamara Kapugedera, Milinda Siriwardana, Malinda Pushpakumara, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan, Thisara Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando.
India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma (vice captain), Lokesh Rahul, Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane, Kedar Jadhav, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur.
