Captain Upul Tharanga feels confident enough to beat India in the ODI series

The Sri Lanka Test side had a tough time competing against the No. 1 ranked Indian team in the recently concluded 3-match Test series. The hosts were whitewashed 3-0 for the first time by a visiting nation since the Test series against Australia in 2004. However, the result of the series was pretty much similar to the one expected from a dominant India who have a far better composition when compared to a young and inexperienced Lankan side. Still, the ODI skipper Upul Tharanga feels confident enough to beat the visitors in the ODI series.

The two teams will now face each other in a 5-match ODI series, with the first game scheduled to be played on 20 August at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. The ODI series will be followed by a solitary T20I game to be played on September 6. The Lankan lions are short on confidence in the shorter format too, as recently they lost 3-2 against the visiting Zimbabwe team. On the other hand, the Indians came to Sri Lanka after a convincing ODI series win in the Caribbean.

Rough patch

Tharanga feels that the current situation is not good but felt that these tough situations are part of the game. “Every team goes through a rough patch. This is something that happens in cycles to every team and every nation no matter how great a cricketing nation they are. Sri Lanka dominated in all three formats for a good 18 years – don’t forget this now when we are going through a rough patch,” he was quoted by DNA.

The 32-year-old stated that the team would try its level best and play with their abilities to turn things around in the ODI series. He asked the fans to support the team in its lean patch to come back a lot stronger with an improved performance in the shorter format of the game. “These areas are being taken care of, and we are seeing the results behind the scenes – however it will take a little more time for it to be seen externally, so please have patience, and most importantly have faith,” added Tharanga.

Stronger in white-ball format

The skipper, who struggled with his form in the Test series, feels that the Lankan team is a much stronger and better side when it comes to white-ball format. They can take some motivation from the fact that they defeated the Men in Blue in their last encounter in the group stages of the Champions Trophy 2017 earlier this year.

“Sri Lanka have always been stronger in our white-ball format, and I am confident that we will come out strong and beat India.We have the talent, we have the skill. We have been putting in the hard work, we just need the spirit, and for that we need your support too,” Tharanga concluded.