Match Prediction: Who Will Win the 1st ODI Between India and Sri Lanka?

India v Sri Lanka 1st ODI Match Prediction India v Sri Lanka 1st ODI Match Prediction
TournamentIndia v Sri Lanka 1st ODI Match Prediction
Timetable18th July 2021 11.30 IST
PredictionIndia to Win
Odds1.15 from Betway
India to Win
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When India announced their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, it sent a few ripples through the cricket betting community as the tour clashes with India's tour of England, meaning that India will be fielding an experimental side. While many will probably think that this will cheapen the tour of Sri Lanka, we think that it is a great opportunity to see what India's fringe players have to offer. An England reserves team just trounced Pakistan 3-0, so it will be interesting to see the squad depth that India has.
Read our match prediction for the 1st ODI India v Sri Lanka game below.

Indian Cricket Team Preview

This Shikhar Dhawan led Indian team might not be England's first team on paper, but we feel that they have more than enough quality to give most international one-day teams a game. India seems to have a quality backup player for each position and their talented and young top order can rival the world's best.

The likes of Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, and Ruturaj Gaikwad are fighting for an opening spot, while the middle-order and the bowling unit have plenty of quality. Therefore, Rahul Dravid, who is the coach for this series, has a bit of a selection headache before the first ODI match in Colombo on Sunday.

When it comes to who will open the batting with Dhawan, we think that Shaw will be given the nod as he has international experience already and has been in some great form. Padikkal will get his chance too at some stage in the series as the coaching team see him as one with a great future in all three formats. Gaikwad will probably have to wait for his chance to play.

Another tricky decision that Dravid has to make is who will be the wicketkeeper? While both Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson have good wicket-keeper records, it is the batting that matters. Kishan has already scored runs as a wicketkeeper for India, but Samson has not lived up to high expectations just yet. Despite this, we think that Dravid will give Samson the chance to show us all just how good he is.

When it comes to their bowling attack, Bhuveneshwar Kumar will lead the attack, and the Dravid has to decide the other bowlers that will make up the bowling unit. We expect to see Navdeep Saini get given another chance - he impressed against Australia, but he has not yet fully established himself in the team and will be eager to show his worth so that he can get a spot in the squad for the T20 World Cup. Both Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have fallen out of favour lately with the main team, and we expect to see both given another chance to get some form back.

Sri Lanka Team Preview

Sri Lanka have just come off the back of a very disappointing tour of England, and they will be looking to put things right against a talented India side, albeit not their best one. This Sri Lanka team is one in transition, and there are plenty of names in the squad that not many cricket fans outside of Sri Lanka will have heard of. However, this is something that could work in their favour as they will not have the pressure of expectation on their shoulders.

Okay, you might say that this was the same against England, and they were easily beaten, so why would it be any different now? Well, now they will have home advantage, so they will be bowling on wickets that are conducive to spin, which is their strong point. The Sri Lankan camp are confident that the likes of Lakshan Sandakan, Akila Dananjaya, and Wanindu Hasaranga have the quality to cause the Indian batsmen plenty of issues with their spin bowling.

Dananjaya, when playing overseas, has picked up 11 wickets in 17 matches at 60.1. These are pretty terrible figures, but in Sri Lanka he has played 19 matches and collected 40 wickets at 20.57. Sandakan has a bowling average of 75 overseas, but when he bowls at home, it improves significantly, and he gives away just 4 runs an over.

Sri Lanka know that their spin bowling attack is their strong point, so they will be hoping that their batsman can put a decent score on the board that they will be able to defend with their strong spin bowling attack.

Coin Toss

The captain that goes on to win the coin toss will more than likely choose to bat first, put a big score on the board, and then use their quality spin bowlers to defend the total. It is always best to bat first in Asian countries since the wicket becomes more conducive to spin as the match wears on. The average first innings score at Colombo is 235, while the average second innings score stands at 195.

Our Match Prediction

There have been people questioning India’s decision to send a fringe team to Sri Lanka, but India has so much talent at their disposal that even an Indian fringe team should be a match for the best teams in the world. Unfortunately for Sri Lanka, they are not close to being one of the best teams in the world, so we think India, despite it being a fringe team, will be a bit too much for them and will win this opening match of the series.

Our India v Sri Lanka 1st ODI Match Prediction:India to win.

Match Prediction India
Best Odds 1.15
If you bet ₹ 2,500 2,875
Bookmaker Betway
Date and hour of game 18th July 11.30 IST

India to Win