India easily outclassed hosts Sri Lanka in the first ODI by 7 wickets. Theoretically India were playing their second string side but the way their performed, it looked that they were a full strength side. A target of 263 runs was chased without breaking a sweat for the lost of just 3 wickets.
Opener Prithvi Shaw made a rollicking 43 in 24 balls that included 9 terrific fours. The captain Shikhar Dhawan played a skipper’s knock and remained unbeaten at 86 in 95 deliveries. Moreover Ishan Kishan and Surya Kumar Yadav too played gorgeous innings. While Kishan made 58 in just 42 balls, Yadav went not out with 31 in 20 balls.
The second ODI between the two teams will be played on same ground in Colombo on Tuesday. Since there are a lot of fringe players for India in this series, it is expected that most of them will get a chance. Accordingly in the second ODI, we might see as many as 3 changes in the Indian team from first game.
These could be as follows:
3 Changes for Indian team?
Devdutt Padikkal – The left handed opener from Karnataka was phenomenal in Vijay Hazare trophy and then in the IPL. He scored heavily in both the tournaments. Hence he was given the chance in the Indian team when most of senior players were missing. The southpaw could very well make his debut in the second ODI ahead of either Dhawan or Shaw.
Varun Chakrvarthy – A mystery spinner from Karnataka, he turned heads in the IPL auction when he was brought for a record 4 crore rupees by Kolkata Knight Riders. After 21 games in the IPL, Varun has taken 25 wickets averaging 24.4 and a economy of 7.35. Moreover he became one of the few Indian bowlers to have taken a fifer in the IPL. He could play ahead of Krunal Pandya as the third spinner of the Indian side.
Chetan Sakariya – A left handed seamer, Sakariya was termed by many as the find of the IPL 2021. Playing for Rajasthan Royals, he took 7 wickets in 7 games. The 23 year old bowler was equally impressive both at the death and with the new ball. Hence he could get a chance instead of Deepak Chahar in the second ODI.
