India Aim Further Momentum in 2nd ODI

Ahmedabad: India routed Sri Lanka in the first ODI and they will be aiming to repeat the dose in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

In 32 years of touring India, no Sri Lankan cricket team has won a bilateral ODI series on Indian soil. Between 1982 and 2009, Sri Lanka have played eight bilateral series, losing seven and sharing one, back in 1997. And now, in the 2014-15 season, they have started this hastily arranged five-game series with a massive defeat in the first ODI.

Improving on a dismal record against India in India may not not carry as much importance for Angelo Mathews' team as will fine-tuning their squad for the 2015 ICC World Cup, but they will need to play far better than they did on Sunday to stop a batting-heavy Indian team from moving one match closer to securing an unassailable lead.

After this series gets over, Sri Lanka host England for seven ODIs at home and then head to New Zealand around the new year, before the World Cup starts in mid-February.

Dilshan remains a key figure for Sri Lanka at the top of the order as the 2011 World Cup finalists bid to launch a solid campaign in Australia and Sri Lanka.

The 38-year-old has had a decent 2014 - he averages 36.61 from 14 innings, but Sri Lanka will need much more from him and fellow stalwarts Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, especially with this current side including several rookies as well as experienced players who have not managed to hold down permanent spots.

From India's perspective, Varun Aaron's injury leaves the management to pick from Dhawal Kulkarni or Stuart Binny, Aaron's replacement.

Local boy Akshar Patel, 20, looks set to play his first ODI in front of an enthusiastic home crowd, but whether Ravindra Jadeja sits out again or comes in for R Ashwin remains to be seen.

Teams from:

India: Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (Capt.), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Stuart Binny, Akshar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhawal Kulkarni, Amit Mishra, Murali Vijay

Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews (Capt.), Ashan Priyanjan, Thisara Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Suraj Randiv, Dhammika Prasad, Lahiru Gamage, Nuwan Kulasekara, Chaturanga de Silva, Kushal Janith Perera, Niroshan Dickwella

Pitch and conditions
With veteran curator Dhiraj Parsana saying that the surface will offer the quicks a bit of carry in the first hour, India should lean towards the nippier Kulkarni. The weather, in any case, is unlikely to interfere.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka have won 12 ODIs and lost only three away from home, this year.
• Virat Kohli need 99 runs for 6000 ODI runs, if he done it will be fastest 6K in ODIs. He averages 70.21 in those victories, with five hundreds and five fifties.

Match facts
Thursday, November 6, 2014 (day/night)
Start time 1330 local (0800 GMT)