India, Sri Lanka to resume ODI rivalry

Colombo, July 20: The teams that took on each other in the 2011 World Cup finals will once again face off in a One-Day series with India looking to put behind them a forgetful last season and Sri Lanka out to continue their recent good run.

India, who beat Sri Lanka to win the World Cup for a second time, had a terrible time las summer when they were trounced by England 0-4 in Tests and 0-3 in the one-dayers and a couple of months later they met a similar fate in Australia.

The Indians also have a chance to reclaim the No.1 ODI spot in the International Cricket Council rankings if they make a clean sweep of the series.

Putting behind that traumatic phase, India will square off against the Sri Lankans once again in a five-match One-day series and a Twenty20 fixture.

The timing of the tour is crucial as it will help India get used to the conditions in Sri Lanka ahead of the World T20 in September.

India and Sri Lanka have met five times this year (four in Australia and once in Bangladesh). The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side won three and lost one with one match ending in a tie.

This will be a test for the Indians, who will be without Sachin Tendulkar. It will also be a great opportunity for players like Rohit Sharma to cement their place in the side while Irfan Pathan, Ajinkya Rahane and Manoj Tiwary will be striving hard to find a place in the eleven.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will be getting into the series on the back of a triumphant series against Pakistan (3-1 in ODIs and 1-0 in Tests).

The islanders will once again depend on the likes of in-form Kumar Sangakkara, skipper Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Squads:India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Umesh Yadav, Ashok Dinda, Irfan Pathan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Angelo Mathews, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thisara Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Lasith Malinga, Chamara Kapugedara, Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake, Jeevan Mendis, Isuru Udana.