edited by: Amrit Santlani
Last Update: January 12, 2023, 13:27 IST
Rohit Sharma, Dasun Shanka with the trophy (BCCI Twitter)
Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat while Kuldeep Yadav was included in India’s playing XI in place of Yuzvendra Chahal.
Team India Will look to wrap up the ODI series against Sri Lanka in the 2nd ODI on Thursday at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka again won the toss but elected to bat this time after suffering a heavy defeat in the previous match.
“We’ll bat first. Very good for a bad first wicket, considering the venue’s stats. Important to score, stay relaxed and play your natural game,” Shanaka said.
Team India captain Rohit Sharma also admitted that he was in two minds, and was grateful that he lost the toss.
Follow Live: India vs Sri Lanka 2023 Live Score 2nd ODI: Sri Lanka Elect To Bat First, Kuldeep Replaces Chahal In IND XI
“I was in a dilemma. We wanted to bat first because that’s how we played last time, but looking at this ground, I wanted to field,” said the ‘Hitman’.
“Overall, the improvements happen as a team, nothing in particular. What we have done in the past is in the past, we need to look ahead and do better,” Rohit said.
Eden Gardens is the same venue where the Indian skipper scored a memorable 264 but he insisted that he has wiped the slate clean.
“I love playing here, the crowd is also energetic and it always motivates me. But it’s a thing of the past, I need to start fresh,” said the 35-year-old.
The visitors made two changes to their side, with Dilshan Madushanka and Pathum Nissanka ruled out due to their respective injuries, Nuwanidu Fernando making his ODI debut, while Lahiru Kumara returned to the playing XI.
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There were also injury concerns for the Indian side, with Rohit revealing that Yuzvendra Chahal was not feeling well after taking a diving catch in Guwahati, thus bringing Kuldeep Yadav into the squad.
After a complete performance in Guwahati, the Indian skipper decided to go with the winning formula and not tinker with the side too much.
playing eleven
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (w), Hardik Pandya, Akshar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Mohammed Siraj
Sri Lanka: Kusal Mendis (w), Avishka Fernando, Charith Aslanka, Dhananjaya De Silva, Nuvanidu Fernando, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dunith Vellej, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha
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