It is the start of Cricket action for Indians in the year 2009. With fairly successful 2008, they are now going into the New Year with a vision to move further up in the ladder. The Indians are currently ranked No. 3 in the ICC ODI rankings while Sri Lanka is placed much lower at No. 7. But, the difference in quality may not be much different with Sri Lanka holding home advantage.
Both India and Sri Lanka had been successful in their respective previous series against England and Pakistan. India beat England 5-0 before the ODI series was called off due to the terrorist attacks on Mumbai. Sri Lanka lost their first match to Pakistan, but came back strongly to take the series 2-1. Kevin Pietersen lost his England team captaincy after the Indian tour, while Shoaib Malik lost his captaincy following the Sri Lankan visit.
The previous ODI series between India and Sri Lanka was a very close fight with India taking the series 3-2, thanks largely to Dhoni's luck with the coin. The other key factor was the ability of Dhoni and Raina to handle Mendis.
This series again will be a test for the Indians ability to play Murali and Mendis. The Indian team looks settled, with the following likely combination:
1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Virender Sehwag
3. Gautam Gambhir
4. Suresh Raina
5. Yuvraj Singh
6. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
7. Yusuf Pathan
8. Pragyan Ojha
9. Zaheer Khan
10. Ishant Sharma
11. Munaf Patel
The other players who could come into play later in the series include all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar and Rohit Sharma.
A good series is in the line. Recently, I don't like the ODI formats. They have been largely one-sided affairs, except a few good games here and there. Hope this series will provide tight finishes and keep the interest in the ODI games alive.
Both India and Sri Lanka had been successful in their respective previous series against England and Pakistan. India beat England 5-0 before the ODI series was called off due to the terrorist attacks on Mumbai. Sri Lanka lost their first match to Pakistan, but came back strongly to take the series 2-1. Kevin Pietersen lost his England team captaincy after the Indian tour, while Shoaib Malik lost his captaincy following the Sri Lankan visit.
The previous ODI series between India and Sri Lanka was a very close fight with India taking the series 3-2, thanks largely to Dhoni's luck with the coin. The other key factor was the ability of Dhoni and Raina to handle Mendis.
This series again will be a test for the Indians ability to play Murali and Mendis. The Indian team looks settled, with the following likely combination:
1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Virender Sehwag
3. Gautam Gambhir
4. Suresh Raina
5. Yuvraj Singh
6. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
7. Yusuf Pathan
8. Pragyan Ojha
9. Zaheer Khan
10. Ishant Sharma
11. Munaf Patel
The other players who could come into play later in the series include all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar and Rohit Sharma.
A good series is in the line. Recently, I don't like the ODI formats. They have been largely one-sided affairs, except a few good games here and there. Hope this series will provide tight finishes and keep the interest in the ODI games alive.
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