5 things fans could look forward to from the India-Sri Lanka ODI series

A lopsided Test series saw India wrap up a 3-0 clean sweep over an out of depth Sri Lankan side and then a dominant 9-wicket victory in the first of the ODIs. The limited overs leg of India's tour of Sri Lanka seemed to be following a script familiar from the past few weeks, of India’s superiority over the host nation.

Three-fourths of the second ODI at Pallekele continued to play to this boring script-sans-drama. India restricted Sri Lanka to a modest total of 236 and, in reply, the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan erased about half the target by the end of the 16th over. Ironically though, when it eventually ended, India had just scraped through to a win with 16 deliveries to play and three wickets in hand, stubborn resistance from Dhoni and an unlikely fifty from Bhuvneshwar Kumar saving the day.

The man at the centre-stage of the drama that unfolded in between was the newly married, 23 years young Akila Dananjaya, another from Sri Lanka’s treasure of mystery tweakers.

Off-spinner by record, but delivering anything but that on the day, in the small matter of 13 deliveries, the newly-wed spoilt the Indian party by picking up 5 of the Indian top order batsmen and finished with figures of 6/54. His spell, despite ending up on a losing note, has now generated a lot of interest in a series that was expected to be a one-sided affair.

Here’s why the remainder of the series is now keenly followed:

How the Indian batsmen crack the Dananjaya puzzle

Coming into the match at Pallekele, Dananjaya was playing just the fourth match of his ODI career and the Indians had never prepared for him. Expecting the off-spinner, they were caught unaware by the leg-breaks and googlies that got them. At the end of the match, Kohli had admitted as much.

However, now that the Indian batsmen have more clarity, having played him, how they tackle his variety, whether they opt to play him out carefully or unsettle him by counter-attacking, would be the most curiously watched focal point of the matches to come. The guy's got some great talent on his fingers and we could see an exciting contest between bat and ball.

Experiments in batting order

Kedar Jadhav couldn't make the most of a promotion in the batting order in the second ODI

Prior to the commencement of the series, skipper Virat Kohli had declared that the Sri Lanka ODIs would kick off India’s preparations for the 2019 World Cup, also revealing plans to experiment a bit with the batting order, putting batsmen in positions and situations they are not be accustomed to.

This would, in the long term, enhance the flexibility of the Indian batting order.

With India having romped home to a 9-wicket win in the first ODI and the opening pair raising a century stand in quick time in the pursuit of the modest target, the second ODI presented an ideal opportunity for Kohli to give batting time to the middle order. Accordingly, Kohli slid down the order while Rahul and Jadhav batted ahead of him.

Well, the experiment did not really pay off on that particular occasion and triggered a collapse that almost lost India the match. However, there is a larger cause behind it and it would be interesting to see if the team management risks shuffling the batting order in the remainder of the series.

Will the benchwarmers get a look-in?

With good A tour performances behind him, Shardul Thakur will be raring for an opportunity in the series

At the top of Kohli’s list of priorities for the World Cup preparation, as much as experimenting with the batting order, is the rotation of the squad to give players enough opportunities in the lead-up to the World Cup.

The Chief Selector MSK Prasad too had stated that the upcoming months would see a lot of rotation of the ODI squad so that they can trim down to the final shortlist of players.

Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav is yet to feature in this series while Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal played ahead of him and delivered creditable performances. Fast bowler Shardul Thakur and batsman Manish Pandey, both picked for their good run on the A tour of South Africa, are also warming the benches. So is Ajinkya Rahane, Man of the Series in the Windies tour.

Will they be looked at in the remainder of the series and how would they fare in those opportunities? These questions have answers that are eagerly awaited by fans of the Indian team.

Return of Thirimanne to bolster Sri Lanka

The return of Thirimanne adds stability to the Lankan batting.

In spite of losing the game in the end, the Sri Lankan side would have taken a lot of heart from how they fought back after a good start by the Indian openers. Dananjaya’s spell seemed to have lifted the mood in the camp as the Lankan fielders put on a spirited fielding display in the latter half of the innings.

For the remainder of the series, Sri Lanka will be without their captain Upul Tharanga and opener Danushka Gunathilaka, who has been ruled due to a shoulder injury. However, Tharanga, serving a two-match ban for slow over-rate, had been in no good form with the bat either. Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne have been rushed into the squad as replacements. This worked in the third ODI but unfortunately, Chandimal has already been ruled out with injury but Thirimanne, who scored a fifty on his return could give the stability and balance the batting order was missing in the first couple of games.

The Lankans have plenty to play for

The Sri Lankans are racing against time for a direct qualification to the 2019 World Cup.

The relevance of bilateral ODI series has been intensely debated in international cricket recently. Often, one sided contests between teams mismatched in ability fail to excite and there have been growing calls to give these affairs context by introducing an ODI league. However, this series is not without any context. The Indian team is on a winning run and will be looking to maintain that while also testing their bench-strength ahead of the upcoming ODIs at home against Australia.

A World Cup Qualification scenario ensures the hosts are not also short of inspiration - they require at least two wins to secure a direct qualification to the World Cup before the September 30th cut-off.

If Sri Lanka have to get past an in-form India side, they will have to raise their game several notches higher. With a World Cup qualification at immediate stake, it could just be what is needed to spur them on to challenge the Indians. making for a lively series