A dented Sri Lanka look to restore their pride as they aim to level the series against India when the second ODI is played on Tuesday. India started off their season on a winning note while Sri Lanka’s successful run at home was halted.
India have had question marks over their consistency and that is an area they will be looking to address on Tuesday.
Their 21-run win on Saturday was built around Virat Kohli’s century and Irfan Pathan’s economical bowling.
Kohli now has four centuries in his last five innings and now has 12 ODI hundreds. He has been the mainstay of Indian middle-order and Sri Lanka will need to remove him early.
Virender Sehwag nearly missed his century and the batting-friendly conditions could mean another feast of a match for the high flying opener.
Captain MS Dhoni though will need to address the long-standing problem of a slow over-rate as he was fined along with his teammates for falling one over short. He has previously been suspended for repeated offence in the past as well.
For Sri Lanka, they ran into a far superior side than the one they faced against Pakistan. Captain Mahela Jayawardene has identified several areas of improvement as he conceded that they were outdone by a better team.
In a high-scoring encounter though, Kumar Sangakkara notched up his third century in four matches but Sri Lanka will need to address the problem of losing wickets at regular intervals.
Worryingly for them, the middle-order failed to support around him and it was not until Thisara Perera came in that a semblance of a partnership came together.
Nuwan Kulasekara has been ruled out of the series due to a groin injury in what will be a major blow for the home side. A replacement for him is yet to be announced.
The day-night match at Hambantota starts at 2.30pm.