Familiar cricketing rivals India and Sri Lanka will face off against each other on Sunday at a familiar venue, the RPS in Colombo, kicking off their limited overs tournament consisting of 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is.
In the last few years though, the tables have turned. More than rivalry, this tournament will be played in unfamiliar conditions, both due to the pandemic and due to the widened status gap between the two teams in World Cricket at the moment. A battle between a rattled minnow vs a settled giant is imminent.
Sri Lanka are rattled – rattled in many ways.
No settled leadership, key players are Indisciplined, team unity under threat, Cold War between players and administration, to name a few among other issues.
Dasun Shanaka is named the captain for the series, this appointment is likely to stay at least until the T20 World Cup in October – that’s what we thought when Kusal Perera was appointed as captain back in May, but that appointment lasted only 9 international matches – Reversed due to all the ‘unwanted’ reasons.
To make things worse, Perera is out of the series – due to a shoulder injury. It will be a big blow for the Lankans to lose their most experienced batter ‘among those picked’. With the next choice wicket keeper batsmen – Dickwella out due to suspension and Chandimal overlooked, selectors were running around looking for wicketkeepers.
With recent form looking very bleak, and the squad looking even bleaker, SL will desperately hope for a change of fortune, at least at home.
India on other hand are looking confident even before a game is played. On paper, the squad they sent to Sri Lanka is formidable. Even without some of the first choice players, who are missing out due to Test duties in England, this squad, lead by Shikhar Dhawan, looks intimidating for the hosts.
All players have earned their spot in the squad. They are household names even in Sri Lanka – due to their heroics in the IPL. Coached by Rahul Dravid, these set of players will look to put on a show and to make a mark.
They will look to end the series on a high. A lot is at stake for this set of players as not all of them will find themselves in the first choice limited overs team for India, once the main players are available. They would want to put in a performance and give a pleasant headache for the selectors.
Recent ODI form – completed matches ( most recent first )
Sri Lanka : LLWLL
India : WLWWL
All matches of the series will be played at the RPIS, where Sri Lanka have a win/loss ration of 1.0 in ODIs agains the Indians, winning 15 and losing 15 of the 30 matches which yielded a result. These past results will be irrelevant this time around as the context of the competition is a total contrast.
Come Sunday, an extremely inexperienced SL team will be facing off against an Indian team full of IPL superstars. A lot is at stake for both teams, especially for the home team, as they look to turn around fortunes amidst a heap of other problems.