Following the conclusion of the three-match T20I series, India and Sri Lanka are all set to clash against each other in the 50-over format. The Indian cricket team will be going one-on-one against the island nation in the first One Day International of the three-match series on Friday at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo from 02:30 pm IST onwards.
Going into the series, the Indian team will be in high spirits as they defeated the Sri Lankan side in the three-match T20I series by 3-0 and excelled in all three facets of the game, be it batting, bowling or fielding. Moreover, the Men in Blue have named a decorated squad for the tour with Rohit Sharma as the skipper.
The likes of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer will also be making a comeback to the team while India will be missing the services of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. Pandya will be not available for selection because of personal reasons while Bumrah has been rested as a part of workload management.
Speaking of the Sri Lankan cricket team, they have made a big change in their leadership, as Charith Asalanka has been handed the responsibility of leading the side against India. Notably, Kusal Mendis was the one who donned the skipper hat in the ODI World Cup 2023 but will now participate only as a player.
Nishan Madushka is the new addition to the ODI squad while the team will be missing the services of fast bowlers Nuwan Thushara and Dushmantha Chameera as both the players are dealing with injury concerns.
What has happened so far?
The Indian cricket team hasn’t played in an ODI series for the past seven months, as their last ODI outing came against South Africa in December 2023. Men in Blue, under the leadership of KL Rahul, and without the services of senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah, travelled to South Africa for a three-match ODI series that ended with India scoring a victory by 2.1.
The visitors looked dominant in the first match as they scored a win by eight wickets after successfully chasing a score of 117 runs. South Africa made a comeback in the second match as they handed India a defeat by eight wickets. However, KL Rahul & Men bounced back to record a win by a massive 78 runs and clinch the series.
As far as the Sri Lankan team is concerned, they locked horns with Bangladesh in the three-match ODI series in March this year and it ended with them losing by 1-2. Sri Lankan showed great character in the second One Day International and scored a victory by three wickets. However, the Tigers ended up winning the first and third ODI by six and four wickets, respectively.
Head to Head Record
The Indian and the Sri Lankan cricket teams enjoy an elaborate history against each other, especially in the 50-over format. The two teams have faced each other in a total of 168 One Day Internationals, with India scoring a victory in 99 games while Sri Lanka emerging victorious in 57 matches.
Notably, as many as 11 games between the two teams ended without any result, while one match ended in a draw.
Key Players
Pathum Nissanka (Sri Lanka): Pathum Nissanka is likely to lead the batting line-up as Sri Lanka will lock horns with the Indian cricket team in the first One Day International of the three-match series on Friday. The 26-year-old was in stunning form in the just-concluded three-match T20I series as he ended up as the highest run-scorer with 137 runs at a good average of 45.67.
The opening batter also has a good international record to his name in the One Day Internationals as he has so far featured in 55 matches, scoring a whopping 2225 runs at an average of 44.5.
Shubman Gill has been named as the vice-captain for the three-match ODI series
Shubman Gill (India): Shubman Gill is being touted as the next big thing in the Indian cricket team and thus has been named the vice-captain for the ODI series against Sri Lanka. The batter looked decent in the T20I series as he scored 73 runs in two matches at an average of 36.50 to be the third-highest run-scorer for the team.
The 24-year-old has proved himself as a reliable batter in the 50-over format with 2271 runs under his belt at an average of 61.38 and a strike rate of over 104. Therefore, he will be the player to watch out for as the Indian cricket team will lock horns with Sri Lanka in the first One Day International of the three-match series.
Predicted XIs
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Charith Asalanka ©, Janith Liyanage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka
India: Rohit Sharma ©, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana
Prediction
The Indian cricket team will have an upper hand when they will clash against the Sri Lankan team in the first One Day International of the three-match series. The visitors have a relatively stronger squad at their disposal and have been in stellar form in international cricket for the past few months.
In addition, they defeated Sri Lanka by 3-0 in the just-concluded three-match T20I series and thus will be riding on confidence. Having said that, Sri Lanka will have the home advantage and the team certainly has the ability to cause an upset in the series.