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Dhaka: Having comprehensively beaten a full strength Sri Lanka at home last month, in-form India will hope for a cakewalk when they take on the injury-ravaged islanders in their opening match of the Tri-series on Tuesday.
India first beat Sri Lanka with consummate ease in the three-match Test series (2-0), and then compounded the visitors problem when they pocketed the five-ODI series 3-1.
And with the Lankans fielding a depleted side for the series, also involving hosts Bangladesh, a win in tomorrow's match should not be a difficult task for the Indians.
The Indians had a successful 2009 with four series wins, including two against Sri Lanka. However, they lost to Australia at home and crashed out in the group stage from the Champions Trophy in South Africa, and consistency is something Dhoni and his men would be looking for this year.
And before departing for the series, Dhoni and his deputy Virender Sehwag have already made it clear that they would be aiming for consistency in the 50-over format.
Batting has been India's strong point in recent times and Sachin Tendulkar's absence, who has opted out of the tournament, would hardly make any difference.
The return of Yuvraj Singh, who missed the last three ODIs against Sri Lanka, will also strengthen the already formidable Indian middle order, although it is not yet certain whether he will play on Tuesday.
Indian fielding, particularly catching, has been horrible during the home series against Sri Lanka and the return of Yuvraj and Rohit will undoubtedly give Dhoni some reasons to smile.
Dhoni too has accepted that there were concerns in these two departments of the game and has obliquely hinted that the BCCI appoint seperate bowling and fielding coaches.
"We dropped quite a few catches in the series (against Sri Lanka). We will try to rectify that. Whatever good fielders we have we will try to make them the best in the world because it really helps, especially in the middle overs," Dhoni had said.
The bowling department will also be strengthened by the return of pacer S Sreesanth, who has fully recovered from swine flu he suffered during the Sri Lanka series.
The temperamental Kerala pacer has done well in the Test series against the Lankans and he should be raring to go after recovering from the swine flu bout.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, would be relying heavily on their batting, especially Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga and captain Kumar Sangakkara to come good in the series in absence of Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya, and Angelo Mathews.
With the Lankans fielding a second string side for the tournament, 20-year-old batsman Lahiru Thirimanne is expected to get his maiden international cap.
Sri Lanka's inexperience is most pronounced in its bowling front with Nuwan Kulasekara being the most capped player with 60-odd ODIs. He will be sharing the new ball with rookie Chanaka Welegedara and Suranga Lakmal.
In the spin department, rookie offie Suraj Randiv and comeback man Malinga Bandara would lead the charge.
Team news
India: In Tendulkar's absence, in-form Gautam Gambhir will partner Sehwag at the top and the dashing Delhi duo would be looking to provide a strong start to the Indian innings. Yuvraj Singh return and take the place of Sachin Tendulkar.
Squad (likely): MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, S Sreesanth.
Sri Lanka: Big blow for Sri Lanka is man in form Tilakratne Dilshan out of the game against India because injured in first match against Bangladesh.
Squad (likely): Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Thilina Kandamby, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara, Suraj Randiv, Suranga Lakmal, Chanaka Welegedara.
Match fact
Tuesday January 05, 2010
Start time 14:30 local time (08:30 GMT), 02:00 pm IST
