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Dunith Wellalage is likely to get the nod for today’s ODI against India, after sitting out the T20I series
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
Sri Lanka, who has a better record in ODI cricket in recent years than in the shortest format, are hoping to continue that trend when they front-up with India for a three-match ODI series starting at Guwahati today.
“We know what the Indian side is, what we plan to achieve is to play better cricket than we had done in the T20I series. We have a good record in ODI cricket in the past few years and we are hoping to perform well in this series,” said Sri Lanka’s white ball captain Dasun Shanaka at the pre-match media conference at Guwahati yesterday.
“It is good that India is putting out their strongest side against us. That is what international cricket is all about. We have to face them and play against them.”
Sri Lanka have won three of their last four ODI series against Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa and drawn one against Afghanistan which is a pretty consistent performance compared to the other two formats.
“None of the teams in the recent past have beaten India in India except for South Africa. We gave a good fight in that Mumbai game. At the same time, India has become stronger with the senior players. What we need to play is competitive cricket and to win. We are looking forward to doing so,” said Shanaka.
“We began as a young team and we are looking forward to playing very good and competitive cricket in this series. The boys know the importance of this series and they are ready for it. It’s the same approach as we have done before. In every series we play ODI and T20I cricket, so all the boys are prepared for that challenge. The series is important for us because the World Cup will be held in India,” he said.
Shanaka said that there might be a few changes to the side and hinted that spin all-rounder Dunith Wellalage will be one of the candidates in the running for a place. Wellalage did not play in any of the three matches in the T20I series.
Depending on how the series pans out, Shanaka said that they have given a lot of exposure to several young cricketers and are hoping to groom more players for the future.
As regards the pitch and the challenge that a batsman like Suryakumar Yadav poses, Shanaka said: “I think it will be really good conditions to play ODI cricket. We went to see the wicket. It is a very good flat deck. It will be a high scoring game.”
“As for Suryakumar, it’s a familiar situation for all the captains. He is a 360-degree player and the form he is in, it’s about bowling well and executing the plans. Apart from that we can’t control what’s happening in the middle.”
Shanaka said that Sri Lanka are able to manage their players because they don’t play cricket as much as India do.
“As an all-rounder I only play white ball cricket so I’ve got a time period to be away from cricket and concentrate on my fitness. Before I came to India I was struggling, I really wanted to do well in this (T20I) series. I concentrated and practiced more. It is very important to play well, especially against India in India. It’s about the practice and the execution,” said Shanaka who was Sri Lanka’s leading run-getter in the T20I series with 124 runs and a strike rate of 187.87.
