Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent. @afidelf
Ishan Kishan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa get first ODI caps in Sri Lanka-India tour opener
Written by I Dig Sports
Published in
Cricket
Sunday, 18 July 2021 03:11
Toss Sri Lanka chose to bat vs India
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat in the first ODI against India - new captain Dasun Shanaka citing the Khettarama ground's history of favouring teams that batted first.
Both teams handed debuts to aggressive middle-order batters. Ishan Kishan plays an ODI for India for the first time, while Bhanuka Rajapaksa makes his ODI debut for Sri Lanka. Kishan will also keep wicket.
Both teams also have a legspinner (Yuzvendra Chahal for India, Wanindu Hasaranga for Sri Lanka), and a left-arm wristspinner (Kuldeep Yadav and Lakshan Sandakan). Sri Lanka's frontline seam attack comprises Dushmantha Chameera, Isuru Udana, and Chamika Karunaratne, while India have picked Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar, with Hardik Pandya in support.
In a possible injury blow to India, wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has sprained a ligament in his knee, and his participation in the rest of the series remains a doubt. The BCCI said: "The medical team is tracking his progress at the moment."
The weather is not expected to interrupt the match.
Sri Lanka: 1 Avishka Fernando, 2 Minod Bhanuka (wk), 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Dhananjaya de Silva, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Chamika Karunaratne, 9 Isuru Udana, 10 Lakshan Sandakan, 11 Dushmantha Chameera
India: 1 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Ishan Kishan (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal