The first ODI of five between Sri Lanka and India takes place on Sunday with both sides heading into the match in Dambulla looking to get off to a good start in the series and set themselves up for when it comes in Pallekele later in the week.
A good start is particularly necessary for the home side who head into the series off the back of a beating by India in the Test matches. If India get away from them early in these matches it could be a long few weeks.
Sri Lanka
It would appear Sri Lanka are going to pack their side with batsmen which may not be the worst plan in the world but it does come at a risk in that if they lose the toss and end up chasing they could be after plenty. They did chase a big score themselves they last time these two met so they can do it if given the chance.
You do wonder how Sri Lanka can possibly contain India when they have the ball in their hand though. Even if the conditions assist the spinners the Indians are so good at playing spin they are not going to be out of their comfort zone. If they can bowl well early on and get a couple of early wickets you never know.
India
The touring side might have rested a few players for this series but they still look to have a formidable outfit on hand to compete over the five matches. They look especially strong with the bat, as they always do, but while they might be missing their headline bowlers the second string doesn’t look too bad.
It remains to be seen how India approach this series but if they bat first they will need to be careful not to go for too big a score just because they lost when defending something sizeable at The Oval a couple of months ago. That was a good wicket and everything went for the Sri Lankans on that occasion.
Team News
Upul Tharanga takes charge of the side as permanent skipper now but he will be without Asela Gunaratne after his injury in the opening Test match. Lasith Malinga is fit and expected to play.
India will be without the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Ravi Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja but the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are no mugs themselves. Axar Patel could play instead of one of them though.
Dambulla International Stadium
This will be the 51st ODI to be held at this ground. Sri Lanka have played here 40 times and their 25-13 winning record with a couple of no results is a very solid one. India have won nine and lost eight of their 17 matches.
The wicket here is by no means the worst for batting. Scores of 300 have been put up in the first innings of each of the last two matches here so there is enough to suggest that this could be a high scoring game.
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Betting
I’m not going to go too crazy in terms of betting on this match. I am interested to see how both sides line up and how they approach things before really tucking in later once I’ve had a chance to assess everything but there is one bet that I like.
That is the boundaries. Sri Lanka look like they are going to pack themselves with batsmen in a bid to chase down something if they get the chance while with Axar Patel potentially coming in at eight for India they are not short of batting either. That leads me to think this will be a high scoring game to get things underway and if it is then the 54.5 boundaries line will not be enough. Both sides could easily catch fliers here and that should see us beyond this boundaries total.
Tips
Back Over 54.5 boundaries for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with William Hill
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