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SL vs IND 2024, SL vs IND IND 1st ODI Match Preview

Big picture: SL has been plagued by injury and illness

Sri Lanka just can’t catch a break. While still reeling from the defeat in the final T20I match, which handed India a 3-0 series lead – and which may have been a major nervous breakdown for those watching, their preparations for the ODI leg have been heavily compromised by injuries or illness-related absences to no less than five of their bowlers. quick ones.

This means that the uncapped Mohamed Shiraz and Eshan Malinga have been called upon to hopefully – keeping all fingers and toes crossed here – provide support for the other perfect seamer in the team in Asitha Fernando, and the complete styles of Chamika Karunaratne. .

The silver lining in all of this is that it could, but briefly, take their minds off the last two times these teams met in a 50-over competition, when Sri Lanka combined for 105 runs. In fact, in all their four ODI meetings, Sri Lanka failed to reach triple digits three times.

That said, their best course of action would be not to put too much stock in the results of these upcoming games. Their next major ODI tournament is the World Cup in 2027 – they failed to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy – so focusing on the program and looking to lay the right foundations may be the right play for now.

In terms of recent form, Sri Lanka have had success in ODIs this year against Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, but their last ODI win against India came back in July 2021. That result ended a five-match losing streak against India. – in fact, Sri Lanka’s last ODI win against India came by snapping a five-match losing streak. So if you’re looking for a straw to hold on to, Sri Lanka’s current win against India in ODIs stands at six. Something’s got to give, right?

When it comes to India, this is just the next step on the well-planned road to the Champions Trophy. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are back in the fold, with the team’s main focus on working out the kinks and forming a good team combination. And he thinks they will be quietly hoping for a tougher challenge than what was available in the T20Is.

Form guide

Sri Lanka LWLWW (last five ODIs, first most recent)
India WLWLW

Highlights: Pathum Nissanka and Kuldeep Yadav

It is clear that Sri Lanka are still struggling to fix their past struggles in the middle and bottom; A large part of their recent success has been achieved due to high level contributions. The main source of this was Pathum Nissanka. His 497 runs across six ODIs is comfortably the most by any other batsman in the world this year. Not only that, his strike rate of 122.41 is also the best among those with at least 200 runs. Sri Lanka will need Nissanka at the top if they are to challenge this Indian outfit.

With the action moving from Kandy to Colombo, the balance between bat and ball should also change. Khettarama has traditionally been where scores of 300 or more are on the odd side, with spin often playing a key role. Enter Kuldeep Yadav, who played a key role in India’s recent T20 World Cup win but sat out the T20Is against Sri Lanka. While Ravi Bishnoi and, in particular, Riyan Parag have impressed in his place, Kuldeep will be keen to make his mark on the tour.

Team news: Rohit, Kohli, Kuldeep return

Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers are inconsistent, but as the wicket may tend to spin they may opt to go in with just two frontline batsmen. Depending on whether they want an additional spin option, Dunith Wellalage may be preferred over Chamika Karunaratne.

Sri Lanka (possible)0 11 Asitha Fernando

India’s top order is optional, but it’s low where there may be some testing. With Hardik Pandya not part of the ODI series, one of Shivam Dube and Parag will step in as the batsman. If Parag gets the nod, India may have the luxury of playing three front seamers, meaning one of Khaleel Ahmed and the uncapped Harshit Rana could get the game.

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

Tone and mood: Rain in the wind

If the recent Lanka Premier League is anything to go by, the batting conditions are likely to be better in Colombo compared to recent years, but there is still a fair amount for bowlers, especially bowlers. But getting a perfect match on Friday may be difficult, with heavy rain expected throughout the day.

Maths and trivia: India’s governance

  • Only Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan among the Allies have a worse number of defeats against India in the last decade than Sri Lanka. During that time India and Sri Lanka have played 24 ODIs, with Sri Lanka winning only three.
  • Kohli’s 2594 runs are the second most by an opposition team against Sri Lanka in ODIs. Sachin Tendulkar sits atop the list with 3113.
  • Since the start of 2023, no batsman has scored more runs in ODIs than Nissanka’s 1648.


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