India vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI LIVE Cricket Updates© AFP

India vs Sri Lanka Live Streaming 1st ODI: When, Where To Watch Match Live© AFP

Ahead of India’s first ODI against Sri Lanka, skipper Rohit Sharma said that it is hard to choose between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant for the wicketkeeper-batter slot, calling both of them match-winners and saying that it is nice to have such selection “problems” while picking up a team. India’s first ODI against Sri Lanka will start on Friday at Colombo. This comes after Men in Blue’s 3-0 clean sweep win in the T20I series. It isn’t just the Rahul vs Pant call that Rohit has to take for the wicket-keeper’s spot but also a Shivam Dube vs Riyan Parag decision that the India skipper would be contemplating on ahead of the series opener.

Speaking ahead of the game in the pre-match press conference, Rohit said, “I will need to discuss with the head coach. You will see it tomorrow when we play the game.”

However, Rohit was pleased with this problem of plenty, wherein two talented players could pip each other out for a specialist role based on their performances.

“It is a tough call. Both are quality players. They are match-winners in their own way. It is always nice to have problems picking up the team like that.”

“When you are discussing too much on who to pick or leave, then that means there is quality in the team. Which I think is a good thing. I look forward to these problems till I am captain,” he concluded his point.

A big quandary for India ahead of the ODI series would be around the wicketkeeper’s role.

In Rishabh Pant’s absence due to a horrific accident, KL Rahul donned the role in the fifty-overs format for a significant period in 2023, including the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup at home and the subsequent South Africa tour.

However, with Pant’s return both players are in the squad and India needs to pick one player as a wicketkeeper in the XI.

KL Rahul has impressive batting numbers when being the designated wicketkeeper in ODIs. In 35 matches where he kept wickets for India, he has 1355 runs at an average of 58.91 with two hundreds and ten fifties. He also has 48 dismissals standing behind the stumps.

Pant, meanwhile, also had good numbers in his last year of appearance in ODIs. In 2022, Pant made 336 runs in 12 games, scoring his maiden ODI hundred (125* off 113) against England in Manchester.

This makes the choice between the two a tough one for India.

Having retired from the T20I format after captaining India to a World Cup win in June, Rohit was questioned on how he felt about moving away from the format.

However, the India skipper lightened up the entire press conference by stating that “mentally” he was not out of the format yet.

“The only difference I feel is that, I have felt like I’ve been rested from the T20Is, like it used to happen in the past. And then a big tournament will come up, and we have to again get ready for the T20Is,” said Rohit.

“That is how I feel. I do not think, I am completely out of the format,” he added.

India’s tour of Sri Lanka started on July 27 with the T20I series, with India securing a 43-run win. In the second T20I, India secured a seven-wicket victory in a rain-affected match.

Meanwhile, the Men in Blue clinched a win in the super-over in the third match. The third T20I was tied and India secured a win in a thrilling super over to clinch the series 3-0.

The R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo is getting to host the 50-over matches. The three ODIs will be held on August 2, August 4, and August 7.

India’s Predicted XI vs Sri Lanka, 1st ODI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul/Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube/Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Khaleel Ahmed/Arshdeep Singh

Suryakumar Yadav revealed that players have been asked not to sit in smaller groups.© AFP

As the Indian cricket team gears up for the 3-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, veteran cricketers like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma returned to the fore, joining their teammates for the 50-over assignment after the team’s 3-0 sweep in T20Is. In a practice session, Virat was spotted being involved in a lengthy conversation with new head coach Gautam Gambhir, sending social media into a meltdown. Indian Premier League franchises like Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, etc. shared reactions on the two stalwarts’ meet which can’t be missed.

Both Gambhir and Kohli are Delhiiites who have given fans some memorable moments on the field, both with their performances and otherwise.

Started from the bottom, now we here

Gautam Gambhir | Virat Kohli pic.twitter.com/NG0k8uzB7e

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) July 31, 2024

Can’t unsee it… pic.twitter.com/bXtUZZdrQ7

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) July 31, 2024

Our seasoned right-arm quick convincing the gaffer to give him the new ball. #PlayBold #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/4zETCQBJ5D

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) July 31, 2024

Kohli was spotted having a laugh with head coach Gautam Gambhir during the training session.

‘Chinaman’ spinner Kuldeep Yadav wore pads and gloves for batting practice. Notably, Gambhir and Kohli have had spats in the past during the IPL but seemingly mended fences during IPL 2024.

Gambhir recently replaced Rahul Dravid as the coach of the Indian team. KL Rahul donned the gloves and brushed up on his wicketkeeping skills. Shreyas Iyer was also present during the training session. Before the ODI series, the Pallekele International Stadium hosted the T20I leg of the series, while the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo is getting to host the 50-over matches.

The three ODIs will be held on August 2, August 4, and August 7. India wrapped up the three T20Is by securing wins in all three of them. Under the new era of Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav, India’s tour of Sri Lanka started on July 27 with the T20I series, with India securing a 43-run win. In the second T20I, India secured a seven-wicket victory in a rain-affected match.

With ANI Inputs

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma’s tactical acumen puts him on par with the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni in white ball formats in which he will go down as a batting giant across the eras, reckoned former head coach Ravi Shastri. Rohit recently guided India to their second T20 World Cup title with a win over South Africa in the final at Barbados, breaking a more than decade-long title drought in ICC event Rohit has overtaken former skipper Dhoni as the most successful T20I captain with 49 wins in 62 matches. Dhoni had led India to 41 victories in 72 games.

“As a tactician, let’s not forget that he’s (Rohit) been an outstanding guy. He’ll go down as one of the best captains ever alongside Dhoni,” Shastri said on the ICC Review.

Dhoni captained India to success in three ICC tournaments — the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, the 2011 Cricket World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy.

“If you ask me who’s better, I’d say both are on par when it comes to tactics in the white-ball game. I can’t pay a bigger compliment to Rohit than that because you know what MS (Dhoni) has done and the titles he has won.”

“Rohit is not far behind and I thought tactically he was just outstanding in this year’s (T20) World Cup,” Shastri added.

India, under Rohit, won eight out of their nine matches with one ending without a result during the T20 World Cup in the Americas.

“Just the calmness, the ability to get a (Jasprit) Bumrah or a (Hardik) Pandya, or even an Axar Patel at just the right time was great to see (in the T20 World Cup),” said Shastri.

Rohit’s tactical acumen came to the fore during the World Cup final when the Proteas required just 30 runs off 30 balls to win, as India came up with a stunning comeback to defend the total.

Pacer Jasprit Bumrah bowled two tight overs, while Hardik Pandya took an important wicket when all seemed lost and Suryakumar Yadav came up with a peach of a catch to dismiss David Miller in the final over.

Shastri also praised Rohit’s batting saying he is one of the best to have ever played the white-ball format.

“I think a giant in the white-ball game. One of the all-time greats. One of the best who have ever played. Will walk into any white-ball team they pick, irrespective of the era. Just because of the dynamic ability he has at the top,” said Shastri about Rohit, who bowed out of T20Is following the World Cup success.

Rohit has scored 14,846 runs, three double tons, 33 hundreds, and 87 fifties in ODIs and T20Is besides being a two-time ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (2007 and 2024) and the ICC Champions Trophy winner (2013) and holds the record for the most sixes in the shortest format.

“The thing with Rohit Sharma is he plays the big shots, he scores quickly, but they’re all cricketing shots. What amazes me, there’s not an element of sloppiness. I mean, it just shows how much time he has on his hands to play the best and the power — people forget that this man is explosive. He’s got power.” The brute power Rohit packs in his shots while coming at the top of the order has helped him score the joint-most T20I centuries — five — alongside Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell.

“Just see the scores in that period of time. Three double hundreds in the one-day game. He’s got hundreds in T20 cricket,” said Shastri.

He said that what set Rohit apart was his explosive batting and his mastery over short-pitched balls.

“Compared to Virat Kohli, you know, Kohli is more finesse, he’s starts along the ground. This man (Rohit) is explosive. He’s got the power to clear any ground in the world and take on the fast bowlers. He’s got the shots for the quicks and he can destroy spin as well.” 

With Sri Lanka needing nine runs to win off 12 balls, India summoned Rinku Singh to press his part-time off-spin bowling into action. Rinku, bowling for the first time in T20Is, gave away only three runs while picking two wickets in a superb 19th over. There was more out-of-the-box thinking in store as captain Suryakumar Yadav brought himself on to bowl the last over, defended five runs by picking up two wickets and sent the game to a Super Over, where India won to seal a 3-0 triumph.

“I have a lot of wickets in domestic cricket. It’s not like that, and I even have a wicket in ODIs. I had been informed by Surya to be ready for bowling in the series. Though I didn’t bowl in the run-up to this game, Surya bhai had told me to keep practising my bowling and asked me to do it during warm-up.”

“When the game was on, I did not expect that I would be asked to bowl, as the situation was totally neck-and-neck. Then he asked me to roll my arm over and once I started to bowl, it was God’s plan – two wickets,” said Rinku in a video posted by BCCI on their ‘X’ account.

Off-spinner Washington Sundar, who starred with an all-round performance (25 runs, 2-23) and restricted Sri Lanka to just two runs in the Super Over, was also in awe of Suryakumar’s inventiveness.

“It was a great decision by Surya first of all to bring in Rinku (in the 19th over). Rinku makes things very difficult for us when he bowls in the nets and now he’s shown that in this game as well.”

“For Surya to bring himself into one of the most crunch situations, and almost winning the game for the team was amazing. Honestly, I was just focusing on what I wanted to do against those batters.”

“It was a great opportunity given to me, especially to win the game for my country. I don’t know how many people would get the opportunity to do that every now and then,” he said.

Sairaj Bahutule, India’s bowling coach on the tour, said one can expect surprises with Suryakumar as the captain of the T20I team. “The way I think Surya operates; you can never be short of surprises. It was a brave decision again.”

“The only learning from this is that all the batters should be bowling and on wickets like this, you might need to bowl that one over, which is crucial. We pushed ourselves to get into the Super Over and Washy did the job for us.”

Suryakumar said he knew of the ways to take the game deep and win it from there, albeit with the ball and as the captain. “I have featured in these close games previously under other captains. It means that I have seen how they have used bowlers to take matches to the last ball of the final over in many ways.”

“I had said to Riyan and Rinku to keep bowling in the nets, as the wickets here are such that if they are dry, then you are needed to roll your arm over for a few overs. When it was 30 needed off 30 balls, I was reminded of what happened a month ago (in the T20 World Cup final). That wicket was easy, but this one was turning.”

“We thought that if we bowl one-two tight overs and get a wicket or two, it will create pressure and keep them away from winning the match. Taking that out-of-the-box call came into my mind, and I took it. I do really like my high-risk, high-reward system and it worked well.”

He signed off by citing his vast experience before playing internationally came in handy at Pallekele.

“I have played lots of local cricket, domestic cricket, which really teaches you a lot about how to get your runs and where to contain them while playing international cricket. All of those learnings came from the grassroots levels, and I am using all of that skill, apart from seeing how Rohit bhai, Virat bhai and Mahi bhai used to do it.”

The Gautam Gambhir-led Indian team management has an opportunity to decide who among KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant will be India’s long-term first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in ODIs when the side takes on Sri Lanka in a three-match series beginning here on Friday. There will be clamour around the first sighting of veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as well, after the recent T20 World Cup triumph. But the think-tank will look to shut out that outside noise, focusing on sorting out the combination in a season that has some marquee one-day events including the Champions Trophy.

In that context, the Rahul vs Pant conundrum is certain to get priority treatment in this series.

Rahul is the incumbent wicketkeeper-batter and has been assigned to that role by the previous set-up under Rahul Dravid since last year’s Asia Cup, a tournament in which he made his comeback from a long injury-forced layoff.

Since then, Rahul has done full justice to his duty both in front and behind the wicket.

Since the continental showpiece last year, Rahul has made 834 runs from 21 matches at a fine average of 69.50 with two hundreds. Besides, Rahul also captained India in the ODI series against South Africa earlier this year As a stumper too, the 32-year-old has been pretty good.

But will Gambhir follow the same route since Pant is back in the reckoning? Pant’s return to India fold through a clutch of T20Is after that horrific accident in 2022 has been heartwarming but he has not set the field ablaze with his outings.

There have been encouraging sparks during the last month or so. But is that enough to convince the powers that be to pick him ahead of Rahul? If Gambhir and skipper Rohit decide to keep both Rahul and Pant in the 11, then they will have to think as to how to accommodate Shreyas Iyer, another formidable player in the 50-over version.

In his last ODI outing, Iyer made a 52 against South Africa at Johannesburg, and his record in 2023 is also impressive – 846 runs from 20 matches at an average of 53 with three hundreds.

So, it could be a three-way tie between Rahul, Pant and Iyer for two batting slots because if India go ahead with all three of them, then they will have to play with five bowlers.

India might not want to walk that rigid path particularly with Hardik Pandya missing this series because of personal reasons.

Hence, India might just want to give a run to either Shivam Dube or Riyan Parag at No. 6.

However, the management entrusting Parag with bowling duties in the just-concluded T20Is could be a precursor to the larger role he might get in the ODI series.

That Parag can shift between off-spin and leg-spin effectively too brightens his chance, something he was not able to showcase much in the IPL, courtesy the Impact Player rule.

But the Assam player has a fairly noticeable body of work in the domestic 50-over competition – the Deodhar Trophy.

He took 11 wickets last season to be placed sixth behind Vidwath Kaverappa (13), Shams Mulani (12), Mayank Yadav (12), Shahbaz Ahmed (12) and R Sai Kishore (11) at a good economy of 4.8.

In contrast, Dube, who appeared in an ODI five years ago, played only one match in the series against Sri Lanka and was not summoned to bowl.

Amid all this, Gambhir will also keep an eye on the outings of Rohit and Kohli, whom he said will have a major part to play going forward.

This will also be the first ODI for the duo after that deflating defeat against Australia in last year’s World Cup final at Ahmedabad, and they will be eager to mark the return to 50-over format with a special outing.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka, a mixture of young and experienced names, will want to avoid a batting collapse that led them to their doom in the T20I series despite enjoying periods of dominance.

However, they will not have the services of pacers Matheesha Pathirana and Dilshan Madhushanka, who have been ruled out of the series with injuries.

Teams:

India: Rohit Sharma (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.

Sri Lanka: Charith Asalanka (C), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Nishan Madushka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Akila Dananjaya, Ehsan Malinga, Mohammed Shiraz, Asitha Fernando. Standbys: Kusal Janith, Pramod Madushan, Jeffrey Vandersay.

Match starts at 2.30 PM IST.

India completed a 3-0 clean-sweep in the T20I series against Sri Lanka with a thrilling super over victory in their final match on Tuesday. Sri Lanka looked comfortably placed in the run chase but Suryakumar’s stunning decision to use Rinku Singh as a bowler in the 19th over and himself bowling the final over of the match provided to be a brilliant one. From 110/1, Sri Lanka lost wickets in a heap as they could only manage to score 137/8 in 20 overs. In the super over, the hosts were once again outplayed as India marched on to a huge win. Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif was impressed by Suryakumar’s captaincy and he took to social media to pay him a massive compliment on his bowling changes.

“Bhai Rohit Sharma ka chela hai Surya.. 19th over Rinku se, 20th over khud SKY and won the game. What else one needs to be a great leader?” he posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Bhai Rohit Sharma ka chela hai Surya.. 19th over Rinku se, 20th over khud SKY and won the game. What else one needs to be a great leader?

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 30, 2024

With Sri Lanka needing nine runs to win off 12 balls, India summoned Rinku Singh to press his part-time off-spin bowling into action. Rinku, bowling for the first time in T20Is, gave away only three runs while picking two wickets in a superb 19th over. There was more out-of-the-box thinking in store as captain Suryakumar Yadav brought himself on to bowl the last over, defended five runs by picking up two wickets and sent the game to a Super Over, where India won to seal a 3-0 triumph.

“I have a lot of wickets in domestic cricket. It’s not like that, and I even have a wicket in ODIs. I had been informed by Surya to be ready for bowling in the series. Though I didn’t bowl in the run-up to this game, Surya bhai had told me to keep practicing my bowling and asked me to do it during warm-up.”

“When the game was on, I did not expect that I would be asked to bowl, as the situation was totally neck-and-neck. Then he asked me to roll my arm over and once I started to bowl, it was God’s plan – two wickets,” said Rinku in a video posted by BCCI on their ‘X’ account.

Off-spinner Washington Sundar, who starred with an all-round performance (25 runs, 2-23) and restricted Sri Lanka to just two runs in the Super Over, was also in awe of Suryakumar’s inventiveness.

“It was a great decision by Surya first of all to bring in Rinku (in the 19th over). Rinku makes things very difficult for us when he bowls in the nets and now he’s shown that in this game as well.”

“For Surya to bring himself into one of the most crunch situations, and almost winning the game for the team was amazing. Honestly, I was just focusing on what I wanted to do against those batters.”

“It was a great opportunity given to me, especially to win the game for my country. I don’t know how many people would get the opportunity to do that every now and then,” he said.

(With IANS inputs)

With 9 runs required from the final 2 overs, Sri Lanka had one foot into a victorious result in the 3rd T20I against India on Tuesday, especially as they had 6 wickets in hand. But, India head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Suryakumar Yadav stumped everyone as they handed over the ball to Rinku Singh, a part-time bowler. However, what happened next was even more surprising. Rinku didn’t just keep the flow of runs under check, conceding 3 runs in the 19th over, but also dismissed two Lankan batters.

Seeing Rinku deliver an exemplary performance, even coach Gambhir had a big smile on his face. The visual left fans on social media amazed, as seeing the former India opener in a happy mood isn’t as common.

When in need, call @rinkusingh235

Game-changing over #SonySportsNetwork #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/aGjQNXamFp

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 30, 2024

After Rinku kept India in the game, skipper Suryakumar Yadav took the responsibility of defending 6 runs in the 20th over. He conceded 5 runs, forcing the game into the Super Over, where India comfortably emerged victorious.

As for the match, chasing a target of 138 on a rank turner, Sri Lanka were cruising along at 110 for 1 in 15.1 over before they once again lost their way — third time in four days to be tied at 137 for 8.

In the latest instance, the hosts lost seven wickets for 27 runs in a space of 4.5 overs.

Having miraculously lost their way in the regulation game, the Indians were way more buoyed in the Super Over where Washington Sundar got both wickets giving away only two runs and then the captain fittingly completed the proceedings with a first ball sweep shot.

No amount of credit is enough for the new Indian leader, who came into bowl in the 20th over with six runs to defend and got two wickets in his first two balls.

This was after Rinku, another part-timer, rolled his arm over for the first time in a T20I to bag a couple of wickets, including that of Kusal Perera (46) when all Lanka needed was 9 runs in 12 balls.

The 19th over cost India only three runs and suddenly the match that looked all but over after Khaleel Ahmed‘s profligate 18th over with six wides came into life.

With PTI Inputs