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

The two stalwarts of Indian cricket Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are back in the team for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. Both of them will be playing an international game after a gap of one month. Virat and Rohit called time on their T20I careers after India’s 2024 T20 World Cup triumph, but the duo remain available for the ODI and Test formats. India’s first ODI against Sri Lanka will take place at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on August 2.

The Indian players trained at the venue ahead of the opening ODI game, and Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma stole the limelight with some sensational batting in nets.

As both Virat and Rohit were smashing bowlers for fun, India’s new head coach Gautam Gambhir kept a keen eye on their practice.

Watch it here:

T20I Series

It’s now time for ODIs #TeamIndia | #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/FolAVEn3OG

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 1, 2024

KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer also took part in batting practice. Even bowlers Kuldeep Yadav and Harshit Rana put their batting to test in the nets, while Iyer delivered some spin bowling to the batters.

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 visitors clinched a win in the Super Over in the third match.

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

India’s ODI Squad for Sri Lanka series: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman 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.

(With ANI Inputs)

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

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.

Gautam Gambhir‘s first series as head coach of the Indian team ended in a 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka in Pallekele. With senior batter like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma now retired from T20Is, the selectors made Suryakumar Yadav the captain for the three-match series. On Tuesday, India won the third and final T20I via Super Over to give Gambhir a brilliant present in his first-ever bilateral series. However, the focus now shifts towards a three-game ODI series, starting with the first game on August 2. It was earlier reported that both Kohli and Rohit would skip the ODI series, having asked for a break after helping India win the T20 World Cup.

However, Gambhir wanted both to be the part of the squad and convinced the two star batters to feature against Sri Lanka. As a result, both arrived in Sri Lanka last week ahead of the 1st ODI.

Kohli trained with the team on Monday, while the likes of Rohit and the returning KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer were also seen batting in the nets. 

During one of the training sessions, Kohli was visibly upset when a fan referred to him as ‘Chokli’. The former India captain was seen shadow practicing in a room filled with his teammates.

Kohli gave a serious look to the fan, why also saying “not here”. The video has now gone viral on social media but some users called it ‘fake’.

Someone called Virat Kohli a chokli in front of him in the dressing room of Colombo ground in Sri Lanka, after which Virat got angry.

No way now Lankan fan’s also owning Virat Kohli pic.twitter.com/ru4KbRUfBX

— (@rushiii_12) July 31, 2024

Meanwhile, former South African fast bowler Morne Morkel is expected to join Gambhir’s coaching staff as a bowling coach, starting with the home series against Bangladesh in September. Gambhir has indicated that the team management is currently evaluating the coaching setup during the six-match series in Sri Lanka, with plans to establish a comprehensive coaching staff for future series, Cricbuzz reported.

Original video of Virat Kohli

Stop spreading fake videos

pic.twitter.com/u6tzJ8nFk9

— CinemaCricketUniverse (@MoviesUniverse9) July 31, 2024

Sairaj Bahutule, who specializes in spin bowling and is currently serving as an interim bowling coach for the Sri Lanka tour, may continue in his role if the management finds it beneficial. However, with Morkel’s expertise lying primarily in fast bowling, the team might still require a dedicated spin bowling coach.

This is the original video of Virat Kohli at Columbo. The viral video getting circulated is FAKE#ViratKohli #INDvSLpic.twitter.com/2vodKt3cAw

— Mr Tajamul (@Tajamul1320) July 31, 2024

If Bahutule retains his position, the coaching lineup would feature two assistant coaches (Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate), a bowling coach (Morne Morkel), a fielding coach (T Dilip), and a spin bowling coach, alongside head coach Gautam Gambhir. This would bring the total to six coaches, potentially raising concerns about an overly large coaching staff.

(With IANS Inputs)

The last time India faced Pakistan in a Test match, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble were still active India cricketers, MS Dhoni had never captained India in a Test, ‘Om Shanti Om’ and ‘Jab We Met’ were in theatres, and Lays’ yellow potato chips was the flavour of the month. December 2007 is the period we’re talking about. With the two nations refusing to tour each other for bilaterals series since, we haven’t been witness to one for nearly 17 years. But the next possibility could be nearby, in 2025.

The next opportunity for fans to witness a Test clash between the two historic rivals would be in a potential World Test Championship Final at the end of the 2023-25 WTC cycle, to be played at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground.

Let’s take a look at how both sides can make the final.

India’s path to the final

India have reached both WTC finals played to date, and they are favourites once again to reach the summit clash. India currently sit first in the WTC 2023-25 cycle table, with a percentage points won of 68.52. Australia are second at the moment on 62.50.

With away Test series against New Zealand and Australia coming up at the end of 2024, India’s path to the final won’t be straightforward. However, after the arrival of Gautam Gambhir as head coach, India are expected to march on with their winning ways.

Pakistan’s path to the final

Pakistan have their work cut out if they want to make the final. They currently sit fifth in the WTC 2023-25 cycle table, with a percentage points won of 36.66, having played just five Tests so far in the cycle. Pakistan are set to host Bangladesh and England this year, before ending the year with a one-off Test away at South Africa.

If Pakistan can emerge in the top two, along with India, then a World Test Championship final between the two nations can become a reality. With India having lost both WTC finals they’ve played, winning their first WTC with a victory over arch-rivals Pakistan will be sweetest for the team.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are part of Indian team for Sri Lanka ODIs© X (Twitter)

Despite calls for the rule to be removed, the Impact Player rule is likely to keep its place.© BCCI

Gautam Gambhir’s key task as India head coach will be man-management and not coaching a bunch of talented players in their respective skills, said former player and ex-chief selector Sandeep Patil on Friday. Gambhir is set to start his tenure with a limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka comprising three T20Is and as many ODIs, with the first game in the shortest format set to be played on Saturday. “I don’t think his job is to coach the Indian team. His job is to help the Indian team,” Patil told PTI Videos in an exclusive interview here.

“That’s how it works at the top level. You need player management. That will be the challenge for Gambhir.” “He has done it and I am sure he will continue to do the same with the Indian cricket team,” said Patil on the sidelines of an event organised by Shrachi Rajasthan Tigers.

Patil, a member of India’s World Cup winning team in 1983, hoped Gambhir will continue to have success at international level after excelling in the IPL.

“Gambhir had done an exceptional job as a coach for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL. I hope that he continues to help the Indian team in the same way,” he added.

Patil backed senior India players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who retired from the T20 internationals after winning the World Cup last month, to continue featuring in the other formats for a long run.

“Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are still doing extremely well and there is no question of an Indian team without them. I wish the Indian team all the best wherever they are playing and whatever tournament they are playing, they are bound to do exceedingly well,” he said.

“Surya comes from Mumbai and is a very dear friend of mine. He has been given the captaincy and he deserved it. I wish him all the best,” he said about India’s newest T20I captain.

Patil said cricket has made significant progress in India since the country’s maiden title triumph in 1983.

“Like every Indian, I wish the Indian cricket team good luck. I am happy that I am part of 1983 and the progress the Indian team has made over the years has been commendable,” he said.

Patil said it is important for India to be a contender in all sports.

“Cricket has changed over time, so has coaching and the approach to sports. We need to ensure India can become a contender in all sports and all avenues of sports,” he added.