India v Sri Lanka, 1st ODI: Match Preview - Absence of MS Dhoni and Lasith Malinga makes it an even battle

Virat Kohli

India and Sri Lanka have faced each other a lot of times in the past, and a bilateral between the two teams is not exactly something that the fans of both the sides will be looking forward to. This series, however, could pull off a few surprises: Sri Lanka did not have enough time to prepare themselves for the tour having been roped in to compensate for the West Indies pull out, and India are without their captain MS Dhoni, who has been rested. In addition to those factors, while the conditions for the World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand would be nowhere close, performances in this series will still count when the selectors sit together to decide the final squad for the marquee event.

Finishing – an area of concern for India

Rohit Sharma made a stunning comeback from his injury, scoring 142 for India A against the Lankans in the practice match yesterday, and it is surprising that he isn’t in the squad for the first three ODIs. The fear of aggravating his injury may be the only possible reason for this exclusion, as he is one of the vital cogs in the set-up. Though Rohit has expressed his wish to play as an opener, the Indian team looks balanced with Ajinkya Rahane-Shikar Dhawan opening and Rohit in the middle order.

Virat Kohli’s century in the last match against the Windies should give him the confidence to do well both as a captain and a player. Captaincy has always brought the best in Kohli, and, with the series against Australia coming up next, the 25-year-old’s form will be crucial for Team India. He along with Ambati Rayudu and Suresh Raina, who is in the form of his life, complete the middle order.

With Wriddhiman Saha not being a natural finisher, it would be interesting to see how the team employs him. Though Dhoni will be missed during the end overs, Jadeja, who is growing in reputation as a finisher, can wield the long handle. Ravichandran Ashwin is back, and hence India would look to go in with 2 spinners and 3 fast bowlers. It would be interesting to see if Akshar Patel, who impressed one and all with his performance in the match against West Indies, gets a chance in this series. The pace attack is a cause of worry, as it is inexperienced without the strike bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is rested, and Mohammad Shami, ruled out due to injury.

All-rounders could make the difference for Lanka

Sri Lanka looks the more experienced side of the two. Though the practice match didn’t go as well as they expected, they would be raring to go especially with the World Cup coming up. Kusal Perera and Tillakaratne Dilshan can be explosive on their day; the middle order is rock solid with Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara; and the finishers Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera are capable of taking the match away from the opposition. They have a plenty of all-rounders, in addition to Nuwan Kulasekara who is more than handy with the bat, and that can be the deciding factor in this series. The bowling, like India, is a little weak and lacks venom without Malinga. Therefore, one can safely say that this series is a contest between two equal sides.

The series, in general, is expected to be a high scoring one with matches in Cuttack, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Ranchi, with the exception of the pitch in Kolkata that may assist the slower bowlers. The first match is at the Barabati stadium, Cuttack, and toss will play a very important role with the dew factor expected to come into play later on.

Everyone remembers what happened the last time Sri Lanka met India in India, which was on April 2, 2011. Sri Lanka would want a turn of events, while India would want to replicate their World Cup finals performance in the series, without their skipper. With the World Cup nearing, the teams would want to try their best possible eleven in the series.

Probable line-ups

India: Ajinkya Rahane, Shikar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Ishant Sharma, Umesh YadavSri Lanka: Kusal Perera, Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dhammika Prasad, Seekkuge Prasanna, Suraj Randiv