“We want our cricket back”, “Bring back the brand of cricket we played in 1996”, “No politics in cricket” – These were slogans and hostile chants by the Sri Lankan fans who gathered around the team bus after the team’s humiliating nine-wicket defeat. Sunny Gavaskar has gone up to the extent in saying that a Ranji Trophy side can beat the present Sri Lankan team.
Everyone expected a better show from the hosts in the one-day series but what followed was a pathetic display with both bat and ball. It is not the loss but the manner in which Sri Lanka played and lost was hurting. Former Sri Lankan players have urged the fans to be patient, show support and keep faith in the team as they are inexperienced and in transition.
Sri Lanka were going well till the half way mark in the first innings (while batting), they were 137/1 and a score of 300 was on the cards. But what followed was abject surrender. It was a stunning collapse as they lost their last nine wickets for 77 runs and were bundled out for 216 which was way below par. None of the batsmen showed resilience or responsibility. The bowlers were as clueless as the batsmen. Sri Lanka picked up only one wicket and that too in the form of a run out. So, the hosts need to lift themselves, show character and compete in the remaining ODIs.
Meanwhile, India just continued to do what they’ve been doing for quite a while now and that is DOMINATE. Their top 3 look ominous (even though Rohit Sharma failed). The bowlers have been very consistent. Spinners played a key role in the win who restricted Sri Lankan batsmen after a good start.
WHEN: 24TH AUGUST, THURSDAY – 2.30 PM IST
WHERE: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele
TEAM NEWS
SRI LANKA: The hosts have quite a few headaches in terms of selection. The batting has been disappointing. Their batting unit looks very talented, it’s just that they need to deliver consistently. The top 5 look stable and Kapugedera should occupy No. 6 even after his failure in the first ODI unless the team management is very harsh. The bowlers also should remain the same as well.
LIKELY XI: Niroshan Dickwella, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedera/Milinda Siriwardana, Thisara Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Malinga, Lakshan Sandakan/Akila Dananjaya, Vishwa Fernando
INDIA: The team management and the selectors have suggested that they will ‘experiment’ not only in this series but also the coming ones in order to build a core group ahead of the 2019 World Cup. Virat Kohli also said that there might be a few surprises in the XI. So, one cannot rule out anything. The batting barring the top 3 didn’t get to bat, so it should remain the same. The bowlers might be shuffled. Spinners Chahal and Axar Patel played in the first ODI and Kuldeep Yadav was surprisingly left out. So, Kuldeep might replace Chahal in the second one-day.
LIKELY XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav/ Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah
STATS
- MS DHONI needs 2 stumpings to become the first wicketkeeper to effect 100 stumpings.
- Lasith Malinga is 2 wickets away from becoming the fourth Sri Lankan bowler to take 300 wickets.
- In the 1st ODI, Shikhar Dhawan became the first Indian player to score six successive 50+ scores against a particular opposition.
- Rohit Sharma’s batting average in Sri Lanka is a mere He has seven successive single digit scores in his last 7 innings there.
SQUADS
SRI LANKA: Upul Tharanga (c), 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
INDIA: Virat Kohli(c), 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
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