Sri Lanka v India, 4th ODI - Sri Lanka Predicted XI

Sri Lanka lost the ODI series as well after the Test series and now are fearing of getting white washed in limited overs too. The hosts had India in trouble chasing for the second time in two matches but failed to capitalize on that. The things have only gone from bad to worse as Chandimal and Kapugedera have been ruled out of the series. On Tuesday, the selection committee too resigned following the poor performances of the team.

Sri Lanka now must be aiming for the direct qualification for 2019 World Cup as they are just two wins away from achieving it. As the visitors are not willing to spare the hosts and are going for the kill, Sri Lanka needs to put their best foot forward in order to get the better of them. The team, as a whole, needs to improve as the bits and pieces performances are not enough now. The bowling looks settled though, after troubling India in the last two games. They still need wicket taking players and it is high time now their new skipper Malinga comes to the fore and create some magic.

India, on the other hand, would want to test their bench strength by resting some of the regular players. The middle order apart from Dhoni has been below par and the team management would love to sort out the issues before they leave the Island nation though, winning the series by 5-0 would be on their minds as the first priority.

Here we predict the playing XI for Sri Lanka

Openers (Niroshan Dickwella, Dilshan Munaweera)

Niroshan Dickwella is the shining light for a long time now and needs to deliver with a big knock. He has shown glimpses of his brilliance but has been guilty of throwing away his wickets. He is the highest run scorer for his side in the series with a single half century. His blistering knock at the top could set the platform for the middle order to post or chase a daunting total.

Dilshan Munaweera is set to become the 183rd player for Sri Lanka in ODIs. The 28-year-old has played T20 Internationals before but will debut in ODIs on Thursday. He is a hard hitting batsman and plays aggressively. In 9 T20Is, he has scored runs at a strike rate of 130. Munaweera has a golden opportunity to debut against a world class team and if he manages to impress the selectors, he might be in the side on long term basis.

Middle Order (Kusal Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhananjaya De Silva )

Kusal Mendis is another youngster in the Sri Lankan ranks who has a bright future but needs to deliver when his team needs him the most. Sri Lankan cricket is in turmoil and it has to be brought up by the young generation. Mendis is capable of scoring big and has been rated highly by everyone. The only problem for him is consistency and he would want to rectify that in the last couple of games and start winning matches for his team.

Lahiru Thirimanne’s successful return to international cricket was the only positive for them in the last match. He looked fluent while playing his shots and was assured during his long stay at the crease. He scored crucial 80 runs off 105 deliveries with 5 fours and 1 six before getting out to Bumrah in the dying stages of the innings. He would love to continue in the same way and has a potential of playing a match winning innings.

Dhananjaya De Silva is a decent middle order batsman and was not included in the original squad for this series. The plethora of injuries has led the selectors to go back to him. De Silva now needs to justify his selection and cement his place in the near future. He might have to hold Sri Lankan innings together along with the likes of Mathews and Siriwardana. The 25-year-old would love to make a lasting impression in the next two ODIs.

All-rounders (Angelo Mathews, Milinda Siriwardana)

Angelo Mathews, the former captain, since resigning has looked a pale shadow of his own. It was expected that he would play with more freedom after giving away the coveted post. He is a special player and must be knowing what to do in these circumstances. Big innings from him might be round the corner but for that, someone needs to step up and support him. He is slowly coming back into the groove with his bowling as well.

Milinda Siriwardana is another player who has made his return to the international arena a happy one. He celebrated his comeback with a run a ball half century and bowled his full quota of 10 overs for not many. The left hander is looking a good prospect for the hosts for the next 4-5 years at least and needs to be groomed. Siriwardana would look to make more difference with the bat in the next ODI.

Bowlers (Akila Dananjaya, Lasith Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando)

Young Akila Dananjaya has looked in ominous form with the ball in hand and has troubled Indian batsmen frequently. After wreaking havoc in the second ODI with a six wicket haul, the bowler spun a web to send Rahul and Jadhav packing. He would want to continue in the same vein and hope that his batsmen give him more runs this time if they are defending a total.

The new skipper, albeit stand in, Lasith Malinga will have to shoulder an extra responsibility now. He needs to lead from the front and would love to get to his 300 wickets milestone in Colombo on Thursday. Sri Lanka needs more from him. The slingy bowler looked like getting to his best when he shattered the stumps of Shikhar Dhawan early in the innings in the 3rd ODI.

A lot was expected of Dushmantha Chameera when he made his debut. But the bowler has shown sparks of his excellence and needs to be consistent. It is also debatable that he was in and out of the side but now has a great chance to cement his place. With the ace bowler Malinga struggling, Chameera has come up with some kind of brilliance and spark some magic into the team. Though he was wayward in the last ODI and dished out many boundary balls, Chameera’s pace can be used to dismantle the famous India batting line up.

Vishwa Fernando, the left arm seamer, has improved in the every game and is a canny bowler. He bowls to his fields and was rewarded in the last game for that as he got the prized scalp of Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Understandably, he was elated after such a big wicket but now has to concentrate on improving as Sri Lanka cricket might find Chaminda Vaas of this generation in him.