Dec 15th 2009
09.00 IST
India
vs
Sri Lanka
India vs Sri Lanka 1st odi Live Streaming
watch India vs Sri lanka 1st odi live streamingAfter a one-sided Test series and an even Twenty20 contest, during which flat pitches and big bats rendered the spinners ineffective, India and Sri Lanka embark upon a five-match ODI series beginning in Rajkot. Chastened by a 2-0 defeat in the Tests, Sri Lanka have a shot at redemption during this final leg of the tour.
The focus will be on Kumar Sangakkara and how he backs his talk with leadership and runs - he did thump exceptional fifties in the Twenty20s. The most interesting sub-plots of the series, though, should be the return of Zaheer Khan to 50-over cricket, and Sanath Jayasuriya's expected move down to the middle order. Jayasuriya's equation in the middle order - where he has not batted regularly since the early 1990s - and his role with the ball as Sri Lanka nurse Muttiah Muralitharan back will be crucial if Sri Lanka are to compete with India. For Sri Lanka these five matches provide an opportunity to assess their one-day prospects and identify areas they need to work on.
India, despite their No. 2 ICC ranking, are not exactly bristling with confidence. They might have won 14 out of 23 completed ODIs this year, but are coming off a disappointing Champions Trophy and a home-series defeat to Australia. Sreesanth is surely out, and Yuvraj Singh is unlikely to play in the opener. That leaves a shaky middle order and a patchy bowling attack, neither of which fired cohesively against Australia. Zaheer and Harbhajan Singh's task of boosting India's bowling is now cut out.
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