Suryakumar Yadav and Kishan was not included in India’s XI

• Sri Lanka’s Dunith Wellalage replaces spinner Maheesh Theekshana.
• Dilshan Madushanka makes his ODI debut.
• Sri Lanka desperately needs to win these games.

Suryakumar Yadav, despite his outstanding T20 form, was not included in India’s XI. Despite scoring a double-century, Shubman Gill was preferred as his opening partner over Ishan Kishan.

In the first ODI in Guwahati, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl first. Rohit Sharma stated that India would have chased as well, owing to the fact that substantial dew forms in the evening at this venue, making gripping the ball more difficult for bowlers.

Sri Lanka made one change to the team that played the third T20I, replacing spinner Maheesh Theekshana with young left-arm spinning allrounder Dunith Wellalage. Although Theekshana is an important member of the men’s T20 team, Wellalage has a better ODI bowling record in nine matches and helps the team’s batting. Dilshan Madushanka, a left-arm quick, made his ODI debut and will bat ahead of Lahiru Kumara.

In contrast, despite Suryakumar Yadav’s stellar T20 performance—he scored a century in the third T20I—India did not include him in their starting XI.

Instead, their middle order includes Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, who will keep wicket. Shubman Gill was preferred as his opening partner over Ishan Kishan, as Rohit had stated on the eve of the match, despite the left-hander scoring a double-century in India’s previous ODI against Bangladesh in December. The spinners are led by Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel, and Umran Malik bats before Arshdeep Singh.

This match shouldn’t be affected by the weather. Sri Lanka desperately needs to win these games in order to qualify for the ODI World Cup later this year. India automatically qualifies for the tournament as the hosts.

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