Aiming to go one better after tying the first ODI in dramatic circumstances, Sri Lanka chose to bat in the second match of the series. Charith Asalanka, their captain, had no hesitation in making the decision: the pitch at the R Premadasa Stadium is expected to play similarly to the one that hosted Friday's series-opener, and provide increasing help for the spinners as the match progresses.
Sri Lanka made two changes. One was a forced legspinner-for-legspinner swap, with Jeffrey Vandersay replacing Wanindu Hasaranga who is out of the series with a hamstring injury. The other seemed to reflect the conditions Sri Lanka expect, with batting allrounder Kamindu Mendis, who bowls spin, replacing the fast bowler Mohamed Shiraz, who made his debut in the first ODI.
This left Sri Lanka with just the one frontline seamer in Asitha Fernando - they also have the part-time medium-pace of Janith Liyanage if needed - and five spin options including Asalanka, a part-timer who picked up three wickets in the first ODI, including two in two balls to seal the tie.
India named an unchanged XI, with their captain Rohit Sharma stressing on the need for adaptability as he looked ahead to another chase in challenging conditions.
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka(c), Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Akila Dananjaya, Asitha Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
Asalanka: "Pitch looks same as the other day. Not much changes. I want to do the same thing as last game. Wanindu Hasaranga and Mohamed Shiraz out, Kamindu Mendis and Jeffrey Vandersay come in. Last game was definitely a lift, and now we need that one win."
Rohit: "We know what's needed when we have to chase, so we've spoken to the boys. You cannot always go with the same mindset. You need to adjust to the conditions in front of you. We have discussed this. We need to adapt quickly and play freely. Important to stay in the present and focus on what needs to be done today. Same XI. [On the tie] Not really [a blow to morale]. If you sit and analyse, both teams dominated different parts of the game. So it was a fair result in the end."
Russel Arnold with the pitch report: "Very warm afternoon. It is dry. Very similar to the pitch we played on a couple of days ago. Lots of cracks. The worry is the gaps between the cracks, they are quite wide. Anyone running on the pitch, it will cause the cracks to get worse. So team winning the toss will want to bat first."
Sri Lanka made two changes. One was a forced legspinner-for-legspinner swap, with Jeffrey Vandersay replacing Wanindu Hasaranga who is out of the series with a hamstring injury. The other seemed to reflect the conditions Sri Lanka expect, with batting allrounder Kamindu Mendis, who bowls spin, replacing the fast bowler Mohamed Shiraz, who made his debut in the first ODI.
This left Sri Lanka with just the one frontline seamer in Asitha Fernando - they also have the part-time medium-pace of Janith Liyanage if needed - and five spin options including Asalanka, a part-timer who picked up three wickets in the first ODI, including two in two balls to seal the tie.
India named an unchanged XI, with their captain Rohit Sharma stressing on the need for adaptability as he looked ahead to another chase in challenging conditions.
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka(c), Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Akila Dananjaya, Asitha Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
Asalanka: "Pitch looks same as the other day. Not much changes. I want to do the same thing as last game. Wanindu Hasaranga and Mohamed Shiraz out, Kamindu Mendis and Jeffrey Vandersay come in. Last game was definitely a lift, and now we need that one win."
Rohit: "We know what's needed when we have to chase, so we've spoken to the boys. You cannot always go with the same mindset. You need to adjust to the conditions in front of you. We have discussed this. We need to adapt quickly and play freely. Important to stay in the present and focus on what needs to be done today. Same XI. [On the tie] Not really [a blow to morale]. If you sit and analyse, both teams dominated different parts of the game. So it was a fair result in the end."
Russel Arnold with the pitch report: "Very warm afternoon. It is dry. Very similar to the pitch we played on a couple of days ago. Lots of cracks. The worry is the gaps between the cracks, they are quite wide. Anyone running on the pitch, it will cause the cracks to get worse. So team winning the toss will want to bat first."
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