3 things India need to do right to beat Sri Lanka in the 1st ODI ft. Rohit Sharma's powerplay approach
Since the 2023 World Cup final, India have played only three ODIs, which were in South Africa before the turn of the year. They are yet to take to the field in the 50-over format in 2024 and will play their first game against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday, August 2.
The Men in Blue have named a fairly strong squad for the rubber. Rohit Sharma will lead the side, with Shubman Gill as his deputy. While the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja will be missing in action, there is plenty of talent and experience to call upon for the visitors.
India, who hold a strong head-to-head advantage over Sri Lanka in the last decade, will be confident of coming out on top in the series opener. Nevertheless, from a tactical perspective, there are a few areas that need to be stressed upon.
ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.
On that note, here are three things India need to do right to beat Sri Lanka in the first ODI.
#3 India need to hand Harshit Rana an ODI debut
This will be a move not just with the first ODI but the overall future of the team in mind. Harshit Rana, as one of the most promising young cricketers coming through the ranks, will need to be trusted and given enough of an opportunity during the Sri Lanka series.
Khaleel Ahmed has looked off-color, and India would like to have three frontline pace options in their ranks, even on spin-friendly surfaces. It's an approach that they followed during the 2023 World Cup and one that isn't expected to change given the amount of success they had there.
Rana also has some untapped batting ability and could slot in at #8. He is expected to partner Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj in the pace attack.
#2 The Men in Blue must play at least three spin options and give their part-timers a few overs
That said, though, eight overs of spin from Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav are unlikely to be enough. Colombo has historically offered spin-friendly pitches, and the same trend continued during the recently concluded Lanka Premier League as well.
India could thus look towards playing Riyan Parag, who did well with the ball during the T20I series, ahead of Shivam Dube. Parag has been a consistent performer in domestic 50-over cricket, both with bat and ball and could slot in at either No. 5 or No. 6.
India might also consider getting a couple of overs from Shreyas Iyer as they look at finding batters who can give them a few overs in white-ball cricket. It's clearly something that they have an eye on during Gautam Gambhir's tenure, going off of what they did during the T20I series, and should look to replicate the same in ODIs as well.
#1 Rohit Sharma could hold the key in the powerplay once again
One of the biggest reasons behind India going to the 2023 World Cup final was Rohit Sharma's attacking approach at the top of the order. That approach is unlikely to change, but it becomes all the more important in conditions where the first 10 overs are the easiest phase for batting.
The middle overs in Sri Lankan ODIs have been dominated by spin, and Colombo is expected to turn as well. Given that the pitch will likely slow down over time, coupled with the factor of rain, Rohit will need to be at his attacking best at the top of the order to give India a bright start.