IND v SL, 2nd ODI Preview: Hosts look for redemption in the must-win game

The action shifts back to cricket after all the limelight was hogged by the highly-anticipated wedding of the Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Bollywood Diva Anushka Sharma. India will lock horns with rejuvenated Sri Lanka in the second of the three-match ODI series at PCA Stadium in Mohali. The visitors lead the series after a resounding victory in the first game in Dharamsala and the hosts looked a pale shadow of themselves under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. However, the must-win encounter is expected to bring the best out of them as the fans might be in for an exciting contest.

Men in Blue were all at sea against the new ball swung a lot thanks to the conditions and the moisture in the pitch. None of the batsmen apart from MS Dhoni could spend time in the middle as they missed their regular skipper Virat Kohli in the middle order. The inexperienced muddle in the middle of Dinesh Karthik, Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey lacked the technique big time and couldn’t bail the team out of trouble after the failure of openers.

Rohit Sharma had a forgettable game in his debut game as captain as he would love to register his first win as the leader of the pack. He also needs to score runs at the top given the middle-order struggles of the team. Even Shikhar Dhawan needs to come up with a strategy to play against the new ball else India might lose him early yet again in Mohali where the ball does a bit under lights. The bowling, however, looked in good shape and few more runs would’ve made the difference a couple of days ago.

Sri Lanka arrested their string of 12 losses in the ODI format in style and suddenly they are looking like a team to beat. But they still have a few problems in the line-up especially at the top where Danushka Gunathilaka has to perform on his return to the side after throwing away his wicket in the small chase. The poor run of Lahiru Thirimanne continued on the tour as he bagged yet another duck in the first ODI. Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep did a fine job with the ball and would love to continue in the same vein.

The backup bowling though wasn’t good enough as they leaked runs after reducing India to 29/7. Thisara Perera, the skipper himself went for runs as the spinners also looked a little ineffective in front of MS Dhoni. They have to find a way through the former Indian captain else he will take the game away from them in the remainder of the series. Angelo Mathews produced a brief but special performance as an all-rounder on Sunday and would like to win the series in Mohali itself.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Danushka Gunathilaka, Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella(w), Asela Gunaratne, Thisara Perera(c), Sachith Pathirana, Suranga Lakmal, Akila Dananjaya, Nuwan Pradeep

Rohit – “We would have bowled first. Overcast conditions and the surface is a bit sticky. We have to change our mindset and apply ourselves. That’s the most important thing and then, take it from there. Not just the last game but every game teaches you so many things. I mentioned at the press conference as well that we are a young group. The key is to learn quickly from the mistakes and hopefully, we won’t repeat them today. (On the temptation to play Rahane) It is quite tempting the kind of skill he possesses but we have decided as a management that he is our top order batsman and don’t want to shuffle with it. Not ideal to play around with anybody’s position. At the same time, it is an opportunity for youngsters to step in. We have one change – Washington Sundar is making his debut in place of Kuldeep. We wish him all the best.”

Perera – “We would like to bowl first. It is overcast conditions and we want to use it best. It was an amazing toss to win there (in Dharamsala) and the toss will decide the match I feel. I think this wicket is better than the last one. I know this surface well as I have played for Kings XI Punjab. This should be better to bat on. We had a nice practice session and we are prepared well. We are unchanged.”

Toss: Sri Lanka have won the toss and have opted to field

Playing combinations

India

Kohli-less batting line-up didn’t look up for the challenge in the first ODI and might be given another opportunity in Mohali. The top order has to fire for the team as the middle order is struggling big time. The nerves might be settled now for Shreyas Iyer and the better performance beckons now from him. There is a possibility that the young Washington Sundar might earn is ODI cap as India would look to beef up their batting a bit after the horror show in Dharamsala. The rest of the line-up looks good and must be raring to pull off a comeback win to take the series to the decider.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka would also refrain themselves from disturbing the winning combination and look to seal the series in the second game only. The opener Upul Tharanga looked fluent with his drives and also relieved after stepping down from captaincy. Gunathilaka and Thirimanne need a solid score behind them as they make up the top order of the line-up. Even Niroshan Dickwella was settled into his new role comfortably and played in the same aggressive fashion.The bowling needs to buck up a bit as they need to back the good work done by Suranga Lakmal. But any changes are not expected barring the last-minute injuries.

Focus will be on:

Dinesh Karthik (India)

Dinesh Karthik was criticised a lot for his painful stay at the crease in Dharamsala where he bagged an 18-ball duck. He never came to terms with the conditions and struggled right from the word go. He is the latest answer to India’s conundrum at number 4 and needs to perform consistently to seal the position. The right-handed batsman must have realized the same and he is a good enough player to overcome his troubles. An improved performance from him would go a long way in solving India’s troubles in the series and also in the near future.

Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka)

Thisara Perera spoke of a special performance from the senior pro of the team Angelo Mathews and produced almost that in the first ODI. He opened the bowling from the other end and scalped the most dangerous Dhawan for a duck to rock India and then his calmness with the bat helped his team to notch up a rare win this year. His fitness will also be scrutinised if he can complete his quota in the second game and if he does that his overs would be gold for the visitors. Mathews has returned in form with the bat and would look to play a match-winning knock on Wednesday.

Stat Attack

2009 – The last instance of Sri Lanka winning an ODI against India in India before the Dharamsala ODI was back in 2009 in Nagpur.

8 – India won eight of the nine ODIs they played at home against Sri Lanka before losing on Sunday.

109 – MS Dhoni needs only 109 runs to complete 10,000 runs in One-Day Internationals.