What 1st ODI of the five-match series between India and Sri Lanka When November 2nd, 2014 Where Barabati Stadium, Cuttack The Teams India A curtailed home series against West Indies meant, players got a chance to spend some time off the field and in the process gear up for their new challenge - Sri Lanka. Familiar foes, familiar conditions and it would be fair to say that India hold the upper hand in the contest. After all, the home side is coming off a successful ODI series against West Indies which saw the emergence of Suresh Raina as an ever dependable commodity in coloured clothing and the resurgence of Virat Kohli. India can look at this series as an opportunity to test their openers in Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan in particular has not set the stage on fire at the top and he would be mindful of the Rohit Sharma ton in the warm-up match a couple of days back. On the bowling front, Mohammad Shami is set to miss the series due to an injury which means more work load for Ishant Sharma given the inconsistency of Umesh Yadav and an inexperienced Dhawal Kulkarni. Varun Aaron would be looking at this series as a perfect way to make a statement before the tour to Australia and the all important World Cup. The Indian spinners look potent enough to give the Lankans a tough time with the likes of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The inclusion of other spinners however depends on match conditions and management decisions. To sum it up, India look like a complete side though they would be missing the services of MS Dhoni. How Wriddhiman Saha grabs this opportunity with the gloves and the bat would be worth a watch. Sri Lanka Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews lamented adequate match practice, preparation and mindset before the start of the series. The results of the same were to be seen in the warm-up game as they succumbed to a 88-run defeat against India A. Their bowlers were made to look ordinary and the batsmen barring Upul Tharanga hardly looked in touch. Ten players from the Lankan line-up rolled their arm over and captain Mathews along with the team management has a task at hand to pick the best playing eleven. Having said that, you cannot take a side that boasts of names like Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan lightly. The trio has the reputation of tormenting India in the past and it could be no different come Sunday at Cuttack. Mathews also hinted at using this series as an opportunity to test some young and exciting talent that would be equally eager to make a mark with the World Cup round the corner. This side is sans the services of Lasith Malinga and Rangana Herath - two of Lanka’s best bowlers at the moment but at the same time it throws open opportunities for the untried and untested. Will Lanka rise up to the challenge and give India a run for their money. The answers as the two sides begin their campaign at Cuttack on Sunday. Key Players India With MS Dhoni given a much needed rest, Virat Kohli has been handed over the reins of leading team India. After a poor run with the bat, Kohli finally showed what he is capable of by scoring a half century at Delhi against West Indies following it up with a century at Dharamsala. Ahead of Kohli lies a challenge of a different kind. He now has to galvanise himself and the side to put up meaningful performances on the field. How Virat the captain and Virat the batsman work in tandem would be an exciting endeavour to look at. Sri Lanka It is a big test for Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews as much a test it is for his counterpart Virat Kohli. With a series at hand, one really would want results instead of looking at other factors like match practice and preparation. Yes, it is not the best Lankan side to have toured India but it is upto Mathews and company to prove that statement wrong. For that, the visitors would need their captain to let his willow do the talking and put his thinking cap to good effect. He has already impressed one and all with his shrewd cricketing brain and it would take some coping for Mathews to put up a good effort. Stat Overview Head-to-head

Form guide (most recent listed first): India: Won,Won,Lost,Lost,Won Sri Lanka: Won,Won,Lost,Lost,Won Last meeting between both sides at Cuttack Brief scores: Dec 21, 2009 – Sri Lanka 239, India 243-3. India won by 7 wickets. Average first innings score at Cuttack - 230 Result summary at Cuttack

Pace vs Spin at Cuttack (in last 5 matches)

Trivia This match will be the 400th ODI on Indian soil. India will become only the second country to host 400 ODIs after Australia (559). Suresh Raina will be playing his 200th ODI. He is also just 44 short of completing 5000 ODI runs. Only seven players have scored a hundred in each of three formats of the game- Tests, ODIs and T20Is. Three of them will be playing in this game – Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Suresh Raina. Others to accomplish this feat are Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Martin Guptill and Ahmed Shehzad. The Squads India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, W Saha, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhawal Kulkarni, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Murali Vijay, Varun Aaron, Akshar Patel. Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (capt), Kusal Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Ashan Priyanjan, Niroshan Dickwella, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dhammika Prasad, Lahiru Gamage, Chaturanga de Silva, Seekuge Prasanna, Suraj Randiv.