India set sights on the prize as Sri Lanka hope to pull one back at the Eden Gardens

It was a sumptuous start to the calendar year for the Indians in ODIs as they extended their imperious domination over the Lankans to another glistening chapter of brilliance, bettering the visitors by a staggering 67 runs to walk out as the victors.

The only spot of bother that India will like to shed some light upon is where they allowed the game to drift towards the end despite almost getting to the toe end of their batting unit. However, in the grander scheme of things that was just a paltry of a spanner for the Men in Blue.

Dravid and company will be hoping for the Men in Blue to emulate their display at Guwahati considering the fact that Eden Gardens has always been kinder to the batters despite an extended hand of assistance for the spinners. With Chahal being taken to the cleaners too frequently, India may be opting for Kuldeep Yadav but even if the surprising pair of Kul-Cha makes an appearance together considering the spin on offer, it would be equally fascinating to witness.

Sri Lanka, will have some serious catching up to do considering the fact that they were completely outdone. They will need their batters to fire home at the top of the innings that will provide them a decent platform to balance the innings out perfectly. Considering the urgency on the block for the visitors, they will be desperate to prove their point in the face of pressure.

Venue Watch:

A total of 32 ODIs have so far been played at the Eden Gardens and as things stand, 19 of them have been won batting first while 12 have been won chasing. The average first innings score is 245 while the average score in the second drops to a sharp 206. There is some spin on offer as the preceding contests have proven to be but it will only be in the first half. The second half could witness dew that eventually nullifies the turn.

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 163

India: 94

Sri Lanka: 57

Match Details:

India vs Sri Lanka

Eden Gardens, Kolkata

12th January 2023

1:30 PM IST

Squads:

India:

Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-capt), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.

Sri Lanka:

Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis (Vice Captain), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ashen Bandara, Maheesh Theekshana, Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, Nuwanidu Fernando (ODIs), Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara