Sri Lanka v India, 2nd ODI: India Predicted XI

It was expected of India to seal a comfortable victory in the 1st ODI against Sri Lanka. Virat Kohli and his men not only marched to a 9-wicket win but humiliated the opposition by taking control of the entire match. Opener Shikhar Dhawan continued his form in the island, scoring a magnificent 132* while skipper Kohli played composed knock of 82*. Both the batters remained unbeaten stitching a 197-run stand for the 2nd wicket.

India can’t be expected to go unchanged throughout this series. The skipper might opt to give guys like MS Dhoni and others slated lower down the order a chance to bat higher and get runs under their belt.

Openers (Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma)

Rohit Sharma was perhaps the only Indian player who could not rub salt on the Lankan misery, as he failed to put his bat over the line, even though covered the distance but entirely in the air. He turned out to be Sri Lanka’s only victim, as the opener went after scoring just 4 from 13 deliveries. The vice-captain needs to break the jinx in the emerald island, as his last 7 games in Sri Lanka read- 4, 4, 4, 0, 0, 5, 5.

Dhawan doesn’t need to be told too much at the moment. He has found his groove, scored 3 centuries already on this tour. He was adjudged the man of the series in Tests and bagged the player of the match award in the 1st ODI. His 90-ball unbeaten 132 will give him the license to go after the Lankan attack, and this might well be a blessing for Sharma, who will look to spend some time at the crease without worrying about the run rate.

Middle order (Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and MS Dhoni)

Not very often do you see Kohli play the role of second fiddle, but during the 1st ODI, the skipper stayed true to his role and scores a patient yet smooth unbeaten 82 off 70 balls. He wasn’t overly aggressive, charted 10 boundaries and just one maximum, maintaining a strike rate of 117.14. He has clearly mentioned that the squad is open to changes and they will try out different roles, so it won’t be surprising if he encourages the likes of KL Rahul or Kedar Jhadav to come up the order and make an impact.

Even though Rahul will come out to bat at the drop of two, but going by the current form in which the Indian top-order is, the waiting game might well be a part of Rahul’s off-field activity. The Sri Lankan attack too didn’t look threatening and it will interesting to see if they make any changes to their side. Lasith Malinga and company were all over the place and therefore it becomes easy for the Indian top 3 to milk the opposition.

MS Dhoni last batted for India a month ago in Kingston against West Indies. Since then, he has spent most of his time in the nets. Sweating it out against the net bowlers. Dhoni in the slog overs will be a treat to watch. It is unlikely to see him come up the order, with KL Rahul at no 4. But a decent score after the 40th over with a few wickets down can provide the perfect platform for the 36-year-old.

All-rounders (Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya)

All-rounder Jadhav didn’t get to bat but he was very much in the game by picking a couple of wickets and finishing with 2/26 in 5 overs. If a spirited Sri Lankan side makes inroads into the Indian team then Jadhav will get an opportunity to do what he does best. Craft an inning, get set before going for his usual hitting. Jadhav provides much-needed depth into the Indian batting line up and he along with MS Dhoni can be called up at any time of the day, or night in this case to finish the match.

Hardik Pandya was off-colour in the opening game. He bowled 6 overs without any luck and conceded 35 runs with the new ball. Pandya has had a memorable tour of the island nation so far, as he made a dream start to his Test career, scoring a fifty plus in his debut Test before getting to his maiden Test century in the 3rd Test match. His big hitting can hurt any opposition, as he can shift the momentum in an over’s time. And this ability makes him the x-factor of the side.

Bowlers (Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah)

Leg-spinner Chahal was not very effective during the 1st ODI, He was brought back into the attack during the end stages by the skipper, he managed to scalp his second wicket in the last spell after breaking through first up to finish his 10 overs with 2 wickets for 60 runs. Clearly, the Haryana man can deliver more than what we have seen in the first game and he will look to put his variations to good use in the upcoming games.

Axar Patel will be very happy with the way he played around with the Lankan batsmen. He picked up the crucial wicket of Kusal Mendis before breaking the middle-order’s back. Patel can work well at any given phase of the game and that makes him very handy. He can stop the run flow and if needed, go for the kill.

Jasprit Bumrah bowled 25 dot balls in the first game and also picked up the wicket of the dangerous Thisara Perera. Apart from that, the slog over specialist scalped another one to make it 2/22 and finish off the Lankan innings. No matter what all changes the skipper makes, Bumrah will be a constant because of the accuracy he has and the way he has developed in the last couple of years. His bowling partner Bhuvneshwar Kumar will look to draw early blood and start featuring in the wickets column, which looked too neat in the previous game.