India has secured a 3-0 victory in the T20I series, and will now face Sri Lanka for the next three bilateral ODIs. The entire ODI series will be held at S.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo between 2nd August and 7th August. In moments of tight contests during T20Is, the Indian team performed exceptionally and they want to do well in ODIs too.
If Suryakumar Yadav captained Team India in the T20Is, Rohit Sharma is rejoining the team for the one-day series. Initially, it was claimed that this veteran player would have to be absent from the series, along with Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. However, as Bumrah is going to be on leave for his Sri Lanka tour, Rohit and Kohli will play in the three-match ODI rubber.
Here Are The 3 Key Aspects To Watch In The India-Sri Lanka ODI Series:
#3 Rishabh Pant’s first ODI series after horrific accident
After his success in making a comeback from injury to competitive cricket during the Indian Premier League as the captain of Delhi Capitals, Rishabh Pant has played for team India’s international cricket team in various formats including the T20 World Cup held in West Indies and the US. The results have been varied but he still managed to perform in T20 matches held in Sri Lanka as well.
Nonetheless, the upcoming one-dayers in Sri Lanka will be his first entry into the ODI format since November 2022. Pant last played one-dayers for India for a three-match series disrupted by rains in New Zealand, which the Kiwis won 1-0. Earlier, he had struck a stunning 125* against England at Manchester ODI in July 2022.
T20I Series ✅
It's now time for ODIs 😎🙌#TeamIndia | #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/FolAVEn3OG
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 1, 2024
He scored an amazing knock in Old Trafford and he showed an extraordinary performance. The left-hander only played two one-day innings. The T20Is since his return have been inconsistent for Pant and he would like to have a greater influence on the ODI series.
#2 How KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer perform after the T20I snub
Both KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer have been excluded from the Indian T20 World Cup squad, even though they have decent statistics in T20Is. With two centuries and 22 fifties, Rahul has played 72 matches and scored 2265 runs with an average of 37.75 and a strike rate of 139.12. In 51 matches, Shreyas has scored 1104 runs at an average of 30.66, hitting eight fifties at a strike rate of 136.12.
Concerning the situation as well, both Rahul and Shreyas often go in and out of the Test teams so they would like to make an impact when playing one-day matches against Sri Lanka. India lost the final to Australia though both performed well at World Cup games.
Additionally, this is the only format in which selectors believe Rahul and Shreyas are most effective. Comparing these two players’ performance histories in one-dayers is breathtaking. Rahul has played 75 matches and scored 2820 runs at an average of 50.35, including seven centuries and eighteen fifties.
On the other hand, Shreyas holds 2383 runs from 59 ODIs at an average of 49.64, with five hundred plus scores besides eighteen half-centuries. However, due to reduced numbers of ODIs resulting from the increasing popularity of T20Is Rahuls’ and Shreyas’ careers will be put to the test.
#1 Can Sri Lanka put behind a horror show in T20Is?
The outcome of the T20I series between India and Sri Lanka is 3-0, as indicated by the paper. However, the score could very well have been 3-0 in Sri Lanka’s favour if they had remained calm and composed at critical junctures within the series. Throughout all three matches, Sri Lanka stood a chance of victory; but their batting failed them in an unexplainable manner.
The first T20I saw them at 140-1 chasing 214 before they fell to 9 for 30 and got bowled out at just 170. They had started convincingly well in the second game, being placed at 80-1 but eventually collapsed to 161 all out for nine wickets down.
In their third encounter against India’s national team, they needed 30 runs off 30 deliveries left with nine wickets remaining. In the third game, with 30 runs needed from 30 balls and nine wickets remaining, they surprisingly lost from that strong position. India forced a Super Over and won.
T20Is and ODIs do not differ in any way whatsoever; hence, Sri Lanka must have been unable to recover psychologically from three successive losses within a short period. Most of the players from the T20Is will also form part of ODIs, including skipper Charith Asalanka, who had the worst time with his bat ever.
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