This will be the 150th ODI at Colombo RPS - the fifth venue to host as many ODIs after Sharjah (249), Harare Sports Club (182), SCG (161), and MCG (151). Of the 150, 40 have been played between Sri Lanka & India - the most ODI bw two teams at a single venue.

Shivam Dube: It feels great whenever you play for your country. I played my first match in 2019, I got my second game in 2024, long time. Feels really good. We played really well, at some point, we lost wickets. Every teams wants to win the match, we didn't lose the match and tied. I need to bowl regularly, I am working on it, good feeling for my side as well, I am enjoying it.

Teams:

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka(c), Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Akila Dananjaya, Asitha Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh

Rohit: It's okay, we know what to expect when we chase. It has to be. You cannot always go and play with the same mindset and same way. You got to adapt to the conditions and then play freely. That's the most important thing we want to do as a team. Same XI

Sri Lanka have won the toss and have opted to bat

Asalanka: We will bat first. I think so, it's looks similar to the other day. Not much as a different as a captain for this game. Kamindu and Vandersay come in.

Sri Lanka have won the toss and have opted to bat

Pitch Report | Russel Arnold: It's a very warm afternoon. The breeze that is blowing across is warm. We have moved a couple of strips across. The pitch is dry. Very similar to the one we played on a couple of days ago. The gaps between the cracks are petty wide. There's going to be a lot of crumbling. Captain winning the toss would want to bat first. The key as a batter is to hit the gaps and run, wear the opposition down.

Expect some changes from the hosts with Hasaranga being ruled out. Vandersay has been named as his replacement. Will India be tempted to bring in Riyan Parag for more spin options? That road may not be taken as yet but we will see the team combinations shortly

Slow, spin, sluggish??? What's in store for us today at the RPS? These two teams treated us to a thrilling tie in the first ODI but both would have had a better idea of conditions to come. The weather in Colombo has some rain in the air throughout the course of the game but doesn't look that threatening to hamper the contest

Preview by Aayush Puthran :

A 21-step stride towards the crease by a broad-shouldered, 6-foot 4-inch figure can seem imposing, but Shivam Dube releases the cricket ball with all the urgency of a leisurely afternoon stroll, at a modest sub-130 kmph. The Sri Lankan top order, which had opted to dig in on Friday, made the medium pacer appear more menacing than he actually was in the first ODI. The slow pitch at the R. Premadasa Stadium might have been his ally, but the batters' reluctance to put him under pressure proved to be his greater weapon.

Even his mid-120 kmph deliveries were made to look like a jaffa when Kusal Mendis was trapped LBW while playing the wrong line to an angling-in delivery that had just slightly straightened after pitching. Yet, that was merely one ball in a spell of 24 that Sri Lanka had faced from Dube, the genial medium pacer who was allowed to operate comfortably within his limitations.

By then, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, and Sadeera Samarawickrama had abandoned their natural flair and curbed their attacking instincts. In the process, Dube, who is on trial as the backup for Hardik Pandya, not only claimed his maiden ODI wicket but also managed to stick to his limitations and get away unscathed. Perhaps the existing concerns of the middle order for Sri Lanka, despite a couple of personnel changes, prompted the trio to be conservative. A brief collapse that followed before Dunith Wellalage mounted a fightback brought sense to their approach.

As Sri Lanka missed yet another chance to win from a dominating position, their winless streak continued. Nonetheless, escaping with a tie provided a much-needed boost as they prepare to face the same opponent at the same venue on Sunday. But will that result be enough to allow their in-form top-order batters to play with greater freedom?

While Dube's underutilized bowling skills were pressed into duty for more reasons than one in the first ODI, India even employed the services of Shubman Gill for an over, as their seventh bowling option, only a day after announcing that they won't be using this ODI series as a practise ground. Gill's bowling is merely an extension of what the new team management has done on this tour with its part-time bowlers, which include Riyan Parag, Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh. The increased bowling involvement of part-timers is a move India had attempted in short bursts under the previous coaching regime, but it has now picked up frequency and consistency. Whose turn will it be next as look to continue their control in the middle overs?

When: Sunday, August 4, 2024, 2:30 PM (Local Time)

Where: Sri Lanka vs India, 2nd ODI, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

What to expect: Scattered thunderstorms are predicted for Sunday. It may not impact the game much, which is expected to be another low-scoring encounter

Team News:

Sri Lanka: Wanindu Hasaranga will miss the remainder of the ODI series with a left hamstring injury and has been replaced in the squad by Jeffrey Vandersay. With Mohamed Shiraz not having much of a role to play in the first ODI, the hosts could be tempted to replace him with a fourth frontline spinner on a track expected to aid the tweakers.

Probable XI: Avishka Fernando, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka (C), Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Jeffrey Vandersay, Akila Dananjaya, Mohamed Shiraz/Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando

India: The visitors took a rest day ahead of the second ODI. They may not want to tinker much with their Playing XI.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh/Khaleel Ahmed

Did you know?

Virat Kohli has stroked four centuries in his last six ODI innings at the R Premadasa Stadium

Each of India's top-five batters averaged above 50 in ODIs last year

In 11 innings where Charith Asalanka has played left-arm legspinners, he has been dismissed five times by them

What they said:

In the top 4 or 5 if someone can bowl, it always helps the team. Looking forward, there will be contributions. And depending on the situation and pitch conditions, in which way we can use the bowlers and somebody who can bowl as a batter can be a surprise element to the opposition. I'm sure moving ahead there will be ample opportunities for the batters to bowl - Sairaj Bahutule, India's spin bowling coach

I did (believe we could defend the total), but we should have done a bit more well to restrict them under 230... I am happy about the the energy in the field and the way the boys played in the second half - Charith Asalanka, Sri Lanka captain

Squads:

Sri Lanka Squad: Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka(c), Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Akila Dananjaya, Mohamed Shiraz, Asitha Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamika Karunaratne, Kamindu Mendis, Nishan Madushka, Maheesh Theekshana, Eshan Malinga

India Squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Rishabh Pant, Khaleel Ahmed, Riyan Parag, Harshit Rana