What happened the last time India played an ODI at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo?
The hype for the big clash between India and Pakistan is palpable. The much-awaited Super Fours stage fixture is scheduled to be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, September 10.
The stadium in the capital state is one of the oldest and biggest cricket grounds in Sri Lanka. Situated on the eastern banks of the country, the ground offers enough help for the slower bowlers, with batters needing to settle themselves in before tightening their grip in the contest.
Having said that, there is a high chance that rain might interrupt the encounter, due to which a reserve day is designated for the fixture.
Team India has played a total of 46 ODIs at the venue, winning 23 of them and losing on 16 occasions. Four ODIs have ended in a no-result as well.
The last time India played an ODI at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo was in July 2021. India toured Sri Lanka for a white-ball series in 2021 when they played all three ODIs in Colombo. The Men in Blue won the first two one-day internationals to win the series but lost the third encounter, which was their last ODI at the venue.
The third ODI match saw Sri Lanka win the toss and choose to bowl first. While India lost their skipper Shikhar Dhawan early on, the 74-run stand between Prithvi Shaw (49) and Sanju Samson (46) put the team back on track.
![Avishka Fernando and Bhanuka Rajapaksa stitched a 109-run stand [Getty Images]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/09/dae4a-16942745953227-1920.jpg?w=500)
It was Samson's maiden ODI appearance as well. However, Shaw's dismissal in the 16th over led to a batting collapse for India as they gave away their next seven wickets while adding only 93 more runs. India was 195/8 before getting all-out for 225. Dhananjaya de Silva took a three-wicket haul in his ten overs.
In their run-chase, Sri Lanka rode on Avishka Fernando's 76 and Bhanuka Rajapaksa's 65 to cruise past victory in 39 overs. Although Rahul Chahar bowled a terrific spell of 3/54, it wasn't enough to restrict the hosts.
Fernando was adjudged as the Player of the Match for his match-winning half-century in the run-chase.
Both KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah available for the clash vs Pakistan
After a very long time, Team India will have a full-string squad, with no first-choice players unavailable due to injuries.
KL Rahul, who was out with injury since the 2023 Indian Premier League, with be available for selection on Sunday. Jasprit Bumrah is also likely to slot into the starting XI as he took part in the practice session with the team after returning from India.
It remains to be seen how India lines up in the match against Pakistan, especially after Ishan Kishan did wonderfully the last time these two teams met.