India wins toss against Sri Lanka in Hambantota ODI

21 July, 2012

If records to be believed, India has an upper hand against its sub continent rival Sri Lanka. Indians, who have played five ODI matches since August 2008 in Sri Lanka, won four out of them.

INDIAN CAPTAIN Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first in the opening ODI of the five match series against Sri Lanka at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota.

In the Indian playing XI, Irfan Pathan is playing as an all-rounder, whereas opener Virender Sehwag and bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan made their comeback in the team. Indian team will come to the ground after six weeks of rest after IPL.

With Zaheer Khan back, India’s bowling looks in better shape. Umesh Yadav and Irfan Pathan are two other seamers in the playing XI to destroy opponent wickets. Dhoni has also opted two spinners R. Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha in the playing XI. In the batting Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir will try to give solid start. Other batsmen who are in the team are including in-form batsman and vice captain Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni.

Sri Lanka who beat Pakistan at home in both ODIs and Tests, are playing good cricket. Their batsmen including captain Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara are in good form. In the bowling, Lasith Malinga can create panic for the Indians. However many young guns of the team are performing consistently well for the team.

Earlier in a pre-match press conference Indian captain MS Dhoni said that they are no strangers to Sri Lankan conditions. So acclimatisation would not be an issue. Whereas Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene said that they have just finished a good series against Pakistan. It is now for us to build on the good work.

If records to be believed, India has an upper hand against its sub continent rival Sri Lanka. Indian who have played five ODI series since August 2008 in Sri Lanka, has won four out of them. India had won 14 and lost 8 in the 22 matches in last four years on Sri Lankan soil. This series will help in the preparation of Indian team for the ICC World T20 tournament, which is scheduled to start from September 18 in Sri Lanka.