The Sri Lankan cricket team has been left stranded in Dharamsala after heavy rainfall in the state. As per the reports, the team was to fly to Mohali in a charted plain on Monday, but rain meant that they couldn’t arrive in Mohali for the second ODI of the series.
It is still raining in North India, and the Lankan team is expected to reach Mohali today only. Indian players have already reached the state and are in action mode for the second ODI.
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The Rohit Sharma led side suffered a defeat in the first game where they were bundled out on a mere score of 112. At one stage, seven batsmen were back in the pavilion on a mere score of 29, and it looked like the team might not touch a score of 50 as well but former Indian captain MS Dhoni came to team’s rescue and steered the team to 112, by playing an innings of 65.
Sri Lanka, in the end, won the game by seven wickets with 176 balls to spare. Rohit Sharma was making his captaincy debut at international level in that game.
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The home side will be looking to turn the tables in Mohali. Since, it winters in North India, the pitch and weather is expected to remain the same as in Dharamsala, which means that the new ball will do its bit in the first few overs of the game, and it would be a wise decision to bowl first, so as to reap benefits right at the start.
A win in this game will mean that the Indian team will have something to play for in the third ODI while a loss will see last game being called a ‘dead rubber’. The home side is expected to make a few changes as Ajikya Rahane and Washington Sundar are expected to be included in the playing XI. While Rahane will bolster the team’s batting, Sundar’s all-round abilities are something which Indian team wants at the moment.
The visitors are not expected to tinker with the winning combination at all.
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