In keeping with the recent Test series, India dealt out a brutal beating to Sri Lanka in the opening ODI over the weekend and they will be looking to take a 2-0 lead when the bandwagon heads into Pallekele on Thursday.
Sri Lanka will be desperate to level up proceedings here not just to get a foothold in the series but also to give themselves a realistic chance of winning it.
Sri Lanka
Clearly if the hosts are going to have any chance at all of winning this match they are going to need to improve significantly on what they have shown so far since India arrived on the island. It would be encouraging if Sri Lanka were showing signs of progression but in truth they are not. They look a lost side on and off the field.
To be fair to Sri Lanka they had got themselves into a position where they could launch to a decent total in the first ODI but as is so often the case they had 30 minutes of madness and the match was done there and then. Of real concern is the ease with which India have scored runs on this tour – both against the red and white ball.
India
We are beginning to get to the stage where the only thing that can deny India from here on in is their own complacency. In fairness I don’t see that being an issue under Virat Kohli either. He is a fired up man who is always motivated to do well and that usually gets transferred onto his side so Sri Lanka are bang up against it here.
The skills India have shown with the ball, especially in the crunch moments, have been far superior to anything Sri Lanka have had on show and the form of their top three with the bat looks better than the entire Sri Lanka batting line up so this India side are in a very good position heading into the last four matches.
Team News
Sri Lanka are set to make changes in a bid to draw some kind of competitive edge. Thisara Perera and Lakshan Sandakan could be ones for the bullet with Milinda Siriwardena and Akila Dananjaya to replace them.
Virat Kohli has hinted that India will play around with their options in this series but he does not seem like the kind who will do that until the series is secure so after a dominant performance in the first game they could well be unchanged.
Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
This will be the 19th and 20th time an ODI has been held on this ground. Sri Lanka have played here 16 times and have a 9-7 winning record. India have won their only previous ODI at this venue.
By and large this is a low scoring ground. Only three scores of 300 have been posted here and only one of those have come since the second match to be played here so that might give Sri Lanka an outside chance.
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Betting
For all the statistics and team changes and things that could side with Sri Lanka, I just can’t see this match being any different to the four we have already seen since India touched down on this tour.
I expect India to deliver another pretty one sided beating. If they bowl first there is nothing to suggest that Sri Lanka will put up a score beyond India and with their confidence low it is hard to see how the home side would chase down what is likely to be a sizeable total. I expect India to win this and win it big.
Tips
Back India (-5.5wickets/38.5runs) to beat Sri Lanka for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with Bet365
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