Related Link: India vs Sri Lanka, Micromax Cup 2014 ODI Series Schedule and Scorecards
After the abrupt cancellation of West Indies Tour of India midway, the stage is set for a fresh 5-match ODI Series for the Micromax Cup 2014 thanks to Sri Lanka. This afternoon at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha – we will be having India vs Sri Lanka, 1st ODI which will begin at 1:30 pm IST. This 1st ODI at Cuttack will be live on Star Sports TV Channel.
Follow Live Ball by Ball Scores and Commentary of India vs Sri Lanka, 1st ODI at Cuttack here
India and Sri Lanka have already played against each other in 144 ODIs. India has the slight upper hand winning 78 matches while Sri Lanka which dominated them post 1996 World Cup triumph has won in 54 ODIs. Out of the 144 ODIs, 11 of them ended as no results due to rain with most of them played in Sri Lanka where rain and cricket always get together.
One has to say that of late India has been the better side than Sri Lanka especially after the retirements of Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan. Sri Lanka haven’t gone on to build their new side the way India has and unfortunately they could not find their new superstars. To add to it, three of its players – Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara are all in the twilight of their international career.
India despite losing Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and other great One Day players still seems to be pulling up highly competitive teams thanks to the IPL which has showcased and developed some promising talent. And for this 5-match ODI Series, Skipper MS Dhoni has been rested and yet it is India who look better on paper than Sri Lanka.
The hosts have lost Mohammed Shami due to an injury but their bowling has been boosted with the return of Ravichandran Ashwin and the inclusion of Varun Aaron who should be hunting in pairs with fellow fast bowler Umesh Yadav. It is high time that Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron are played together in a match as their pace of 145 kmph is quite precious for India in the near future. Bhuvneshwar Kumar who has played each and every match in the recent times has finally been rested.
Angelo Mathews’ team is grossly under prepared for this tour of India. The Sri Lankan team is more on an obligation to play these five ODIs and they are not in the best frame of mind. The squad is also without its key bowlers Lasith Malinga and Rangana Herath. For this match, the Lankans would be awaiting on the fitness of Kumar Sangakkara who is facing a back problem.
Today’s day night match at Cuttack will be Suresh Raina’s 200th ODI. Suresh Raina will become the 12th player to have played in 200 plus ODIs for India. Well this series will be a perfect confidence booster for Virat Kohli, the Captain who will be looking to make up for all those low scores he made in England. As we know Virat Kohli loves the Sri Lankan bowling as much as he loves Bollywood beauty Anushka Sharma!
India Squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Wriddhiman Saha (Wicket Keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Varun Aaron, Dhawal Kulkarni, Amit Mishra, Akshar Patel, Murali Vijay
Sri Lanka Squad: Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (Wicket Keeper), Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews (Captain), Chaturanga de Silva, Thisara Perera, Ashan Priyanjan, Nuwan Kulasekara, Seekkuge Prasanna, Lahiru Gamage, Suraj Randiv, Kusal Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Niroshan Dickwella (Wicket Keeper)