Regarding the head-to-head clashes between the two teams in the 50-over format, the Indian team has earned victory in 99 games, while Sri Lanka has won in 57 games, with 11 games ending with no results. In the last ODI contest of the SL vs Ind, which was part of the 2023 World Cup, the Blue Brigade won by 302 runs.
The new era of 50-over games has displayed the importance of batters firing up with aggressive runs in the powerplay (1-6) overs, where they have hardly taken any risk in playing the attacking shots against the new ball. Once it comes off, the batting department always finds themselves ahead in the game.
Since the start of the year 2023, India has changed their template and is expected to do the same in the SL vs Ind ODI series. The Rohit Sharma-led team has collected 2076 runs in 35 innings, at an average of close to 60 and a strike rate of 100 in the first 10 overs of the innings.
In this period, they have smashed 64 over-boundaries and 291 boundaries, besides gaining the highest score of 94 in the first 10 overs of an ODI game. That shows their aggression from the start of an ODI innings.
India has also lost only 35 wickets in the powerplay which is around one in the duration and that allows them to keep the scoring rate high. Opener and captain Rohit Sharma along with Shubman Gill always look to drill the bowlers for the big shots.
Also Read: Shubman Gill-Yashasvi Jaiswal Praised As Modern-Day Sourav Ganguly-Sachin Tendulkar By Robin Uthappa
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, since the start of 2023, before the SL vs Ind series, has nailed 1959 ODI runs in 40 innings. The average of 26.47 isn’t something where they have done well, and the strike rate of over 80 hasn’t helped them either in this phase.
The home side for the series has lost 74 wickets in 40 innings, which is nearly two in the first 10 overs, and that never offers them the required momentum in the powerplay of the format. Their batters have gained 294 boundaries and 26 sixes in this tenure, which is something where they will look to improve a lot.
The likes of Pathum Nissanka and Kushal Mendis have to step up and do the required job in the batting department. The newly made captain Charith Asalanka too will have to make a huge contribution in the batting, but the biggest challenge for them will be keeping wickets in hand.
SL vs IND Head-to-Head Records
| Matches Played | 168 |
| Sri Lanka Won | 57 |
| India Won | 99 |
| No Result | 11 |
| First Played | June 16, 1979 |
| Last Played | November 02, 2023 |
SL vs IND Teams
Sri Lanka’s Probable XI: Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kushal Mendis, Charith Asalanka (c), Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk.), Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Chamika Karunaratne, Mahesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana.
India’s Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk.), Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Mohammad Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
Also Read: Watch- Hardik Pandya Says This To Suryakumar Yadav After Clean Sweep vs Sri Lanka
SL vs IND Best Players Prediction
Best Batter Prediction: Virat Kohli
Regarding the performance in the ODI games against Sri Lanka, India’s number three batter Virat Kohli has done a fabulous job. Against Sri Lanka, he has smacked 2594 runs in 51 innings of the format, at an average of 63.3 and a strike rate of 93.9, shouldering on 12 half-centuries and 10 centuries with a best of 166.
Best Bowler Prediction: Mohmmad Siraj
With the ball in hand, Mohammad Siraj always shows his beast form against this team. In just six ODIs, the right-arm pacer has picked up 19 wickets at an average of under eight and a strike rate of over 13. The economy rate of 3.5 is another impressive part, with his best of 6/21, besides the dot rate of around 80%.
SL vs IND Match Winner Prediction
Looking at the current form of both teams, India should go 1-0 up after the first ODI game of the series.