Grappling with injuries, India to take on Sri Lanka

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DAMBULLA - A depleted Indian team will have to raise their game by many notches, after suffering the heavy defeat against New Zealand, when they take on Sri Lanka in the ODI tri-nation series tournament here Sunday.

India lost to New Zealand by a massive 200 runs in the opening match and it will be a huge task for them to beat the hosts, who have won their encounter against the Kiwis.

To make matters worse, India will be missing Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh from the line-up.

Gambhir is recovering from an injury while Yuvraj was ruled out Sunday after being diagnosed with dengue.

The onus will be on Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik and Virat Kohli, who is expected to replace Yuvraj, to put up a fight.

Indian batsmen were troubled by the bounce and pace extracted by the four-pronged New Zealand pace attack and were bowled out for 88.

In the bowling department, Munaf Patel has been called as replacement for Ishant Sharma, who is out with a troubled knee. Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan is already out with a shoulder injury, while Ashish Nehra, too, is recovering from niggles and is doubtful for the match.

Dhoni admitted that there is too much of workload on the bowlers.

“The workload on the bowlers can be too much, specially on those who are playing both Tests and the ODIs,” said Dhoni.

Dhoni said India will bounce back from the New Zealand defeat.

“We had some days off and we tried to make the most of it. It was a disappointing loss. But hopefully we will turn up on the field well prepared for the challenges,” said Dhoni, who was reportedly angry with the groundsmen here after seeing the unprepared pitch provided to the Indian team for training sessions Saturday.

Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said they will expect a tough fight from the Indian team.

“I don’t think India are unprepared. India are a good side. In ODI and T20 cricket, it doesn’t matter what you have done the day before. If you come in and perform well the next day, you can still win. We know how dangerous India can be.”

Squad:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain and wicketkeeper), Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, R. Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Saurabh Tiwary, Munaf Patel.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (captain and wicketkeeper), Mahela Jayawardene , Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dilhara Fernando, Rangana Herath, Suraj Randiv, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Thisara Perera, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Upul Tharanga.