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Rajkot: A suspected hairline fracture to Yuvraj Singh's finger has left India worried as they go into the opening One Day International against Sri Lanka on Tuesday with a question mark on the availability of the dashing left hander. ( Watch Video )
It will be a big setback for India if the southpaw, who injured his left little finger while fielding in the last T20I match in Mohali, ends up warming the benches even though team management is keen to play him in the series-opener.
Yuvraj had played a pivotal role in levelling the T20 series against the same opponents as his blistering unbeaten 25-ball 60 had helped India achieve the biggest ever run-chase in the twenty20 match in Mohali.
But losing a man of Yuvraj's abilities would be a big loss to India who be keen to keep up their momentum and start the five-match ODI series on a resounding note.
The team management will wait till Tuesday morning to decide on fielding Yuvraj, who scored an unforgettable hundred last year by simply wading into the England bowling, in the series opener at Rajkot.
India are already without paceman S Sreesanth for the first two ODIs after he tested positive for swine flu virus and if Yuvraj too is declared unfit to play it would be double blow though they have good bench strength to overcome these fitness setbacks.
They would be eager not to make this sort of slip-up again but for this to happen India would need to lift their fielding, catching and bowling by a few notches.
Newly roped in fielding consultant Mike Young, the Chiacago-born former baseball player, is yet to make an impact on lifting the abysmal Indian fielding standards.
Dhoni has conceded that ground fielding has never been India's greatest strength over the years. The catching was exceptional in the Test series but the way India dropped chances in the T20 series is a cause for concern.
It would be interesting to see whether Lanka send Jayasuriya as an opener as captain Sangakkara has already hinted at a different role for the flamboyant left-hander.
Sri Lanka would like to take solace that they had beaten India the last time the two teams met at this venue two years ago.
Lanka have also beaten West Indies at this venue in the Nehru Cup clash in 1989 while India have faced mixed fortunes.
The hosts have won five and lost as many here. However, in ODIs overall played between the two teams in India, the home team has a much superior win-loss record of 25-10 from 37 ties.
The head-to-head record also is in India's favour at 60-43 from 113 matches, 10 ending in no-result.
Team news
India: The return of Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar, who were not part of the T20 team, has strengthened the hosts' batting and bowling line-up.
In case Yuvraj is unable to take the field, Virat Kohli is expected to come into the playing eleven.
Squad (likely): Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli/Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra.
Sri Lanka: Jayasuriya playing in the middle order, Upul Tharanga will open. The last middle-order spot will be a toss-up between Thilan Samaraweera and Thilina Kandamby, the latter being the frontrunner.
Squad (likely): Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Thilina Kandamby, Sanath Jayasuriya, Angelo Mathews, Muttiah Muralithara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Dilhara Fernando, Ajantha Mendis.
Pitch and conditions
November 2008, India and England squared off here and the home side set the tone for a series sweep with a resounding win. While it is a venue with plenty of runs on offer, it isn't one where India have always enjoyed playing. They have a 50-50 record here and the last time they played Sri Lanka at this ground, in 2007, they lost by five runs.
Stats and trivia
Match facts
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Start time 09:00 local time, (03:30 GMT), 09:00 am Sri Lanka time
