Virat Kohli-led team India has been having a dream run ever since they landed in Sri Lanka. Team India whitewashed the hosts in the Test series and have taken a 3-o lead up in the 5-match One Day International series. On one side India seems to already be preparing for the 2019 cricket World Cup by trying different permutation and combinations, and on the other hand, qualification for the Sri Lankan side hangs by a loose thread, who have seems to have lost their significance since the departure of veterans like Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan.
Though Virat Kohli can afford to try out new combinations, if Sri Lanka loses even one match from here on, their qualification to the world cup would come under the spotlight. If hosts Sri Lanka lose both the remaining ODIs against India, they would dearly hope that a resurgent West Indies do not win more than three of their five ODIs against England, and also not lose their one-off match to Ireland.
#TeamIndia batsman @im_manishpandey‘s day out at the net session #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/MrdrC9xG1d
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 30, 2017
So Sri Lanka is under immense pressure and India has the luxury of experimenting slots in the batting order. In the ongoing series, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has shown a brilliant form in the blues, thrashing questions that were raised over his future in the team. Also, Shikhar Dhawan has not played on a foot wrong ever since he made a come back during the ICC Champions Trophy. The southpaw has already amassed more than 1000 runs in last three months. Hardik Pandya’s emergence, too, has proved to be a big plus for Virat Kohli-led team India.
Simply Dhoni Things _#SLvIND #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/V5v0Gb95gr
— 300* NOT OUT (@ImShanTanu29) August 27, 2017
By the looks of it, it is highly likely that Manish Pandey may be included in the playing XI today as hinted byVirat Kohli.
