IND vs SL 2021: When was the last time India played 5 debutants in an ODI?

Sandeep Patil

The young Indian team led by Shikhar Dhawan won the first two ODIs on the Sri Lanka tour and took an unassailable lead in the series. India will now face the hosts in the final ODI today in the hope of finishing their second consecutive whitewash on Sri Lankan soil.

R Premadasa stadium in Colombo will host the final match of the series today. The home side will look to win the match and salvage pride. Sri Lankan team management will hope that the batting and bowling departments work in unison to achieve a positive result.

Both teams have made multiple changes to their playing XIs. Sri Lanka have bought in Praveen Jayawickrama, Akila Dananjaya, and Ramesh Mendis for the final ODI. India, on the other hand, made six changes as they have already won the series. Among the six players, there are five debutants.

Sanju Samson, Nitish Rana, Chetan Sakariya, K Gowtham, and Rahul Chahar have all got a chance to make their ODI debuts in the dead rubber. Navdeep Saini also got his first opportunity on this tour. The team management decided to rest Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Krunal Pandya, and Ishan Kishan to accommodate the six incoming players in the playing XI.

This is the first time in 31 years that India has fielded five debutants in an ODI match.

December 6, 1980: The last time five players debuted for India in ODI cricket

MCG, Australia

Melbourne Cricket ground (MCG) was the venue for India's last game when they gave five debutants a chance in a single ODI. It was the third match of the Benson & Hedges World Series Cup between India and Australian teams.

Kirti Azad, Dilip Doshi, Roger Binny, Sandeep Patil and Tirumalai Srinivasan made their ODI debuts for India in that match. India batted first, and managed to reach 208/9 in 49 overs in the first innings of the game.

Debutant Sandeep Patil(64 in 70 balls) top-scored for India as he saved the team after a collapse(111/6) and took them to 203/7 before getting dismissed for Greg Chappell's bowling. Wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani lent a helping hand to Patil in the batting unit.

In reply, Dilip Doshi(3/32) and Roger Binny(2/23) bowled wonderfully in their first ODI match for India. Thanks to a combined effort from the bowling unit, India bundled out Australia for 142 in 42.1 overs and bagged a memorable win.