After a string of delays and troubles, Sri Lanka's ODI series against India is set to finally get underway on Sunday, 18 July.
India are strong favourites heading into the series with Sri Lanka fresh off a big hiding at the hands of England
Sri Lanka vs India | 18 July | R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium | 11:30
To Win Match
Sri Lanka 47/10
Tie 25/1
India 2/13
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka return to home soil but will face an opponent more than adept in the skills required to succeed on the island.
It will be Sri Lanka’s first ODI at the Premadasa stadium in nearly two years, so that home ground advantage might not mean as much as it usually would.
Mickey Arthur continues to explore avenues towards solving Sri Lanka’s top-order problems, but once again they will need big efforts from the likes of Dhananjaya de Silva.
Wanindu Hasaranga has show signs of being Sri Lanka’s big weapon in white-ball cricket, and he is also a handy lower-order batsman.
India
India have won their last five ODIs against Sri Lanka at the Premadasa stadium and will be eager to continue that dominance as they prepare to face England.
Shikhar Dhawan will captain the team in Sri Lanka with Rohit Sharma and regular skipper Virat Kohli absent as the Test squad for the England series have not travelled with this group.
There will be opportunities for some fringe players to put their hands up for a place in the 2023 World Cup plans, such as IPL stars Nitish Rana, Sanju Samson and emerging talent Prithvi Shaw.
The wrist-spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav should be the key bowlers in this series for India.
Verdict: India 2/13
India just have too much firepower and strength in depth.
