Colombo, Sep 12: A day after beating arch rivals Paistan with a massive 228-run margin, Team India on Tuesday after winning the toss decided to bat first against hosts Sri Lanka at the R Premdasa Stadium, here.
It may not be a cake walk for Rohit Sharma's men against an inform Sri Lanka side, who have won all the last 13 ODIs they have played so far. Only Australia have won more ODIs continuously than the current Lankan side. The Kangaroos still hold the record of winning 21 ODIs in a row.
On the other hand, India expectedly would be eager to replicate their show against Pakistan and overcome the Lankan challenge. They have included Axar Patel, the left-arm spin bowling allrounder in place of Shardul Thakur.
If India win today, they would in all probability be the first team to book a berth in the final. The same also holds true for Dasun Shanaka's men, who on the other day held their nerves to beat Bangladesh, the fourth team in the Super Four.
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha and Matheesha Pathirana.
